39 weeks, 4 days and counting ...

Good news and bad news this week ...

Good news: Mommy doesn't have high blood pressure (or pre-ecclampsia) and Cletus is still developing quite nicely in utero. The baby's heartbeat is strong, he displays no signs of distress and his level of movement is quite high. Mommy has been tested for every issue under the sun and the doctors are quite confident that Mommy is not in labor and there is no need to speed up our previously scheduled date of induction (Tues, Sept 2).

Bad news: (and I repeat ...) the doctors are quite confident that Mommy is not in labor and there is no need to speed our previously scheduled date of induction (Tues, Sept 2). 39 weeks, 4 days and counting ... we've been kicked out of the hospital twice this week and it's currently 101 degrees in the shade here in Santa Clara. The 39th week is not for the faint of heart. Is this baby ever coming out???

Mommy has been tracking her blood pressure readings at home. On Wednesday night the home montitor indicated that Mommy's BP's were in the high 150's and 90's from 7pm to 3am. At 3am, Mommy called the doctor on call who suggested that she go into the hospital. When we got to the hosptial, Mommy's BP's were well below the normal range, tests for pre-cclampsia were negative so she was released to recoup at home. Instructions at that point were to lay down on her side for 6+ daytime hours a day. (gag).

On Friday ... Mommy's BP's skyrocked again and the doctor again sent Mommy back into the hospital for another "check". Similar to Wed, as soon as Mommy got hooked up to a BP machine, her readings showed up well within the normal range and doctor started to wonder. Either I am one of the few rare people who is more relaxed in a hospital than at home or there is something wrong with my home BP machine. Turns out ... Mommy arm is so fat that the BP arm cuff on her home machine is too tight and gives off false high readings. Nice. Now not only do I have cankle to obsess about, but my arms are now deemed too fat for a normal BP cuff. Dang ...

Suffice it say, everyone at the hospital was super nice, the doctors and nurses were very happy to see that Mommy's BP's are normal and there were no signs of distress to either her or the baby. This is good news ... yes. Mommy is happy that baby is doing well, but she sure wishes that her water would just go and ahead and break.

BTW, while Mommy was hoping to deliver early, she's kinda glad that the doctor on call this past Wed will not be one to deliver Cleet. After reciting her BP readings to the doctor over the phone the doctor said, "so I understand that your readings are high but why are you awake and checking your weight at 3am in the morning?" ... Nice, 7 years of college, 3 years of residency and the guy thinks that when I say my readings are "155 over 90" that I'm talking about my weight to height ratio not my blood pressure ...

Happy Birthday Mom (oops I mean Emma)

The Baby's Heartbeat at Week 38

Tomorrow is our Week 39 pre-natal check-up so this means that Mommy is a week late in posting this picture of Cletus' last NST results but here it is anyhow.

The top line graph depicts the baby's heartbeat and shows that he has good "range" and is progressing quite nicely in utero. The NST tech makes Mommy Smong drink ice cold water and eat a serving of carbs before the test to "wake" the baby up. Baby was certainly awake during this test.

The middle black line (really more of a broken line) depicts the baby's level of movement (kicks, pushes, yawns, etc) during the test. As you can see from blocks that are so close together that they form a line, the baby was suuuuuper active during the test. We usually see a few black blocks scattered across the page (nothing that really forms a long line) ... last Tuesday, Cleet moved pretty much alllll day long ... and certainly all throughout this test. Dr. Clawson kinda did some stuff to "agitate" Mommy's cervix so this could be why the baby was awake.

The bottom line graph shows the level of contractions (or lack there of) that Mommy's uterus is going through. No visible contractions as of yet ... sigh ... on to week 39.

Happy Early Anniversary Rob

Since there's a good chance that I'll go into labor early and will miss putting together an anniversary celebration for Rob, my best friend and the loooove of my life, I've been racking my brain trying to come up with a good anniversary gift. While I think that my hubby would smile and be ever-so emotionally touched if I wrote him a sappy poem, I knoooow that he'd love this gift even better. At 37 weeks pregnant I'm not venturing too far away from home, so the gift is more of an I-O-U gift certificate for when we get a post pregnancy date night and can head down to Marini's candy shop in Santa Cruz. Happy Anniversary honey ... I love you !!!

Yeah I'm still crazy ...

The Smong blog appears to have to turned into a baby centric "all about Cleet the Feet" kind of page but alas ... never fear ... the really good posts are back : )




Here is a link to my latest find : ) The Bacon Alarm Clock.

Place a piece of frozen bacon on the metal tray that fits inside of the piggy's head. Set the clock to go off the next morning and WHAH-LA ... as the sun comes up, you will be gently greeted by the lovely fragrance of cooked bacon. I've never eaten bacon in my bedroom but I have no doubt that Uncle Rob and I would be literally arm wrestling over the tasty strip that the alarm clock professes to cook. In the words of the annoyingly perky, Rachel Ray ... YUM-O

It's Week 36

And Cletus has started to give Mommy Smong signals indicating that he's getting ready for the big day ...

Cleet is faced head down and has "dropped" lower into mommy's pelvis. He is currently 5lbs-8oz and in the 40% percentile for size (another great rating for a baby being born to a diabetic Mommy). Cletus is suuuuper active at night, 11pm is his witching hour, and he responds by wiggling his butt against Mommy's belly when he hears Daddy read him a book or tell him a story. Miffy the Bunny and Dr. Seuss novelas are his all-time-favs.

As you can see from this picture. Cleet's mullet is growing strong. Beth our ultrasound tech showed us how his inch-long hair floats in his amniotic fluid when she pushes on Mommy's belly ... so rad. Cleet's head is the blob on the right side of the pic. Cleet the Feet ... can't wait to meet ya !!!

Yeah, I think we'll let Cletus' first real meal take place at Grandma's ...

Found this pic on the web ... rice rice baby

34 weeks and still going strong ...

Dr. Clawson is happy to report that we are a mere 2 weeks away from yet another big milestone. Mommy's glucose levels and weight gain are good ... she has gained only 13lbs so far. I, baby Cletus, weigh just under 5lbs and have hair about an inch long in the back !!! Mommy could see my hair flow in the amniotic fluid as I twirled around on my last ultrasound. Aside from a little elevated blood pressure and some swelling in her hands and feet all seems to be well for Mom.

As mommy/baby duo, we get a lot more sleep ... naps seem to be better than night-time sleep as mom tends to get insomnia ... and I move around alot at night. 11pm -midnight seems to be my witching hour ... wonder if I'm gonna be a nightowl when I pop : )

My nursery is built and Mom is relaxing on the couch. Can't wait to see you alll soon !!!

Love,
Cletus your fetus

Hmmm ...

2008 marks the second year that I am working at the City of Sunnyvale's Summer Express Day Camp. As I'm presently 7 months pregnant, I decided not to teach full time and opted to work in the office ... greeting parents, handing out ice packs and bandaging up skinned knees.

As we are now week 3 into camp and I've had a lot of time to watch parents interact with their kids, I can't help but wonder "what kind of parent will I be?"

Will I be the hard core mom who says to her son ... "I understand that it hurt when the basketball bonked you in the head and I know that you have blood on your shorts from when you fell and scraped your knee but you HAVE to stay at school until I come and pick you up at the end of the day. The band-aid is all you need ... you will walk again - without a limp, one of these days ..."

Or ... will I be the over protective mom who, in the process of pretty much dragging her son to his first class, stops smack dab in the middle of the courtyard full of kids ... pulls up her son's shirt ... tells him to hold it ... while she re-ties the neat little bow on drawstring of his pants and then proceeds to tuck his shirt back into his recently adjusted pants/shirt/drawstring dealybobby ...

I am personally hoping that there is some kind of happy medium between the two types of moms but I have my suspicions that Cletus is still gonna seek counseling as soon as he's of age : )

Three cheers to impending Mommyhood ... lookout world here I come !!!

3D Ultrasound - 30.5 Weeks