Pregnancy updates

I know I’ve been slacking on the blog, but we’ve had quite a bit going on lately. Last week Kurt and I went to go see a lawyer about his paternal rights since we aren’t married. I find it disturbing that if a couple is married it’s just assumed that the baby belongs to the husband and his name is automatically on the birth certificate (maybe I just paid too much attention in the Navy to the hordes of wives at the bar when the squadrons were out to sea). In our case we have to fill out a paternity affidavit stating that he’s the father before his name can appear on the birth certificate. According to our lawyer we also have to do what is equivalent to the reverse of the parenting plan one would do for a divorce just to ensure that Kurt can legally take our daughter to the doctor and pick her up at school/daycare without me. I guess having his name on the birth certificate isn’t enough.

A couple days after our visit to the lawyer one of our many pregnant friends was sent to the hospital for bed rest so that the doctors can stop her contractions. At the time she was 31 weeks along with twins. Apparently her body thinks the babies are ready to come out - so far the doctors have been able to convince her body otherwise. Unfortunately she missed her own baby shower that was on Saturday. Hang in there M! Maybe we’ll wind up delivering together.

On Friday I had a doctor appointment, and I have another one this week (later today). As of last Friday I weigh in at 171 pounds and the baby has rotated to the head down – ready for birthing position. And her heart rate has slowed from the 140’s to 130’s - a good sign that she’s maturing properly.

I finally gave the doctor a copy of my birth plan. He said it was a great birth plan and that I should be a stand-up comedian. He also said that he and the nurses will make sure to stay clear of my hands. The only comments he had (other than the humor) was that the oral vitamin K that I would prefer doesn’t work. I had found a couple of sites that mentioned babies being more prone to childhood Leukemia after the vitamin K shots, but because they weren’t official scientific sites that I would give absolute trust I didn’t bring up that question. I had made my decision just because those sites raised the question and because oral drops seem a lot friendlier than shots.

The eye goop they put on newborns isn’t optional in Washington State. Apparently all doctors and midwives must administer the eye drops which are an antibiotic that help reduce the occurrence of blindness due to picking up bacteria and viruses on the way out of the birth canal (specifically gonorrhea and chlamydia). The odd thing to me is they do this even if the baby was born via cesarean. Anyway they don’t use Silver Nitrate any longer so it doesn’t burn or irritate quite so much.

The last thing the doctor commented on was the Hepatitis B vaccination. They no longer use vaccinations that contain thimerosal/mercury.