Okay, it’s not rhythmic or happening all of the time, but when Ahna described what she has been feeling the last two days, our doctor used the “labor” word for the first time. She has been experiencing more and more contractions and stretching feelings as each of the last few days have come and gone; but nothing substantial as of yet.

The doctor’s visit yesterday was pretty quick but did have a moment or two worth sharing. First was the heartbeat, which has become one of the the highlights of our week. It is the coolest thing to hear and in conjunction with the baby’s movement, it’s all pretty real. Secondly was the measurement, which this week came in the number of 44 (or so). For those of you who haven’t had this experience yet, that number generally falls pretty close to the week of your pregnancy (39 cm = 39 weeks). There is a tolerance where the doctors don’t even have a second thought, but this was a little out of the norm. Dr. Cassel isn’t worried, but at our next appointment on Friday we will have an ultrasound just to check the size of the baby. We also will get wrapped in the fetal monitor for a little while to watch the movement and heartrate. Our next appointment is on our due date (if we go that far), and then we will be at the office twice a week until the baby comes.  

Thursday afternoon marked another doctor’s office visit. It seems as though as we approach the due date and are on the weekly visits, they somehow become less important. Or at least, less involved with less new information. Thursday’s lasted a whopping 5 minutes, with a measurement (38″), listening to the heartbeat (145), and feeling the baby’s position (head down, face down). We have opted to not have any exams or checking dilation at this point – especially since there aren’t any contractions to speak of. 

After the doctor’s visit, we headed up to Denver to meet up with some friends for dinner and a show. Dinner was a little celebration of Jennifer’s birthday, a little celebration of Ahna completing her work for the Master’s Degree, a little celebration of Thursday evening together, and a lot of celebration of the show to come. Yup, we got tickets and saw the Flight of the Conchords. Oh boy, are they hilarious! Tickets for the show sold out in something like 3 hours and were being hawked on-line for well over $200 (face value was $35). It did lead to a late evening, but it was a wonderful time.