We saw Dr. Bell today for the 32-week appointment, and everything is going very well! I do need to drink more water though, so I'm obeying her orders and sipping on agua as I type. We go back in a couple of weeks to meet the last doctor in the practice (Dr. Ellington), and after that we'll go every week until Charlotte is born.
We got a lot of questions answered this week. Although I am prepared to basically do whatever Dr. Bell tells me to do once I go into labor, it was nice to hear that her policy is to give me an epidural whenever I feel like I need it (no waiting until I'm dilated a magic number of centimeters) and to avoid an episiotomy unless absolutely necessary. The same goes for the other doctors in the practice (which is terrific, since I have about a 40% chance of delivering with a doctor other than Dr. Bell). Corey also asked if he should give blood in advance in case I have to undergo a c-section, and Dr. Bell said it is very rare for a c-section to require her to give a patient blood. Since Corey has the magic O-blood type, she encouraged him to give blood anyway. My B+ blood is not quite so much in demand (nor should I be giving blood while I'm pregnant anyway).
Our childbirthing instructor told us to have everything ready to go for Charlotte's arrival by 36 weeks, so we have a little over 3 weeks to complete the preparations. We're probably in pretty good shape, but we need to confirm dog and cat care arrangements with the neighbors and buy some diapers! The last coats of varnish are being applied to the changing table this week. Now we just need to teach Corey to change a diaper. Thank goodness future grandparents Barb & Larry are heading down to help us out after the birth!
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