almost 7 months!

With just a week to go in the 7th month, I've been feeling understandably freaked out about getting ready for the arrival of this baby! It seemed like we were getting ahead of ourselves for a couple of months there, but with the doctor switch and March already a blur, I now feel like we're playing catch-up.

Since the 6-month update, we've seen both our new doctor and the nurse practitioner in the practice, and I'm happy to report our appointment today confirmed our decision to make the switch, as crazy as that seemed at roughly 3/4 of the way through this pregnancy. This private practice seems much less rushed and much less focused on my weight than the resident clinic at the hospital where we'll still go for the delivery. What I thought was going to be a quick appointment turned out to be the usual, plus a solid half-hour of talking, including asking us a couple of questions we didn't have answers to just yet (instead of it always being the other way around before, if we even got much of a chance to ask questions). As an added bonus, we got to listen to Baby G's heartbeat for what felt like an eternity compared to the split second or two we'd hear it with our previous doctor. She even told us the heart rate - 140 beats per minute. My abdomen was palpated for the first time and she guessed by what she felt and where she was picking up the heartbeat that he's head-down, although that won't necessarily remain consistent between now and about 36 weeks, when it would seem to begin to matter a bit more.

I even managed to sign us up for some prenatal classes, including a tour of the maternity areas at the hospital and a "natural childbirth" class in early May. Our previous doctor made it seem like we were well ahead of schedule when, in the 5th month we asked about her recommendations for preparing for childbirth and beyond, encouraging us to hold off until later in the pregnancy when our fetus would be more "viable." I remember feeling a little shocked when she said this, confusing her use of the term to describe our baby with what I'd associated with passing that first trimester mark in the pregnancy. A "viable" pregnancy, it turns out, is different from a "viable" fetus, or one who has a good chance of surviving outside the womb. Even so, way to dampen the excitement of expectant parents, who thought they were way beyond the "viable" stage.

The maternity center, on the other hand, encourages expectant parents to sign up for classes in the 3rd or 4th month in order to take them by the 5th or 6th month. Granted, I realize this place is a business and they want expectant parents to hand over the cash, but imagine my shock when I read that, thinking we were right on track. I'll be well into the 8th month by the time we take our classes. Oh well. We'll still have a solid month after (give or take a couple of weeks) to practice all that we learn.