The Man with the Plan…

Although I generally refer to God as the man with the plan, Adam and I visited Dr. Kenney on Monday and it would seem that in this instance, he gets to be the man behind the curtain (hopefully not the C Section curtain). Unfortunately my bp isn’t really reacting as hoped to being bed bound … however Snowball continues to blossom beautifully in my little nest. Each time I visit the good Dr. these days they perform a biophysical profile on Baby Brehm and check for four main developments including heartbeat, amniotic fluid level, movement and breathing.

Snowball still remains a spry little suckling; moving and grooving about the womb as if a participant on America’s Best Dance Crew…in fact, our little babe was causing such a stir on Monday that it took a good bit of time to capture the cord blood business. The little bundle is also keeping well supported inside its’ sac and the amniotic fluid levels are flowing just fine. Our little tot’s ticker is looking right on track. So, heartbeat, fluid, and movement are all in check. The breathing is the cause for pause on occasion as it seems to take Snowball a little longer than desired to catch a breath. Now, I am fully aware that I am not a doctor, a nurse, or anything remotely close to having a clue about medicine but I was shocked to learn that while a fetus can be quite fancy in form, they don’t actually breathe all the time… is it so ridiculous to have thought that if the heart was a beating than the fetus was surely breathing?!

The plan as it stands is that I will see Dr. Kenney tomorrow, then again on the day of the groundhog and then once again next Thursday. I will have a little amnio done on Thursday when I will have successfully reached 36 weeks (Yay!!) and little Snowball may roll on into our hood following positive results. Now, the amniocentesis should show whether or not Snowball can be a successful fish out of water and shouldn’t cause momma or babe much pain. I figure although it’s a big needle it can’t be any worse than the pain I’m going to feel when squeezing Snowball through a small space (and MY small space at that). Until then, Baby Brehm and I will be resting while daddy Brehm does the nesting.

I’ve had people tell me they are excited about Snowball’s early arrival and while I suppose I can understand their logic, it’s hard for a first time mama to be chill and easy going about a change in direction following eight months of harboring this little honey. When we found out at 30 weeks that Snowball would basically be an early bird, there were folks that were freakin’ ecstatic. As a note, most moms want their duck to hatch later than sooner … better for mom, better for baby. It’s not just some freak coincidence that the average woman delivers her bundle at 41 weeks in the womb…
While we know that Snowball will be just swell and 36 weeks will be a rockin’ good ride, the desired destination was originally 37 weeks.

A few more realizations I’ve had as of late include:
1. We are REALLY going to be parents. I sometimes feel like a child who’s going to be having a child. Does that feeling ever go away?
2. I’ve really got to figure out a way to get my hair done. It’s absolutely atrocious and Snowball may want to scream when he/she meets this mop. I know Snowball will scream regardless but if my hair looks like it does now, I’m blaming the hair.
3. Bed rest is not completely evil. Somehow not working out and laying on my bum results in weight loss… my house is cleaner than ever because I don’t have any time to mess it up… food tastes better when it magically appears in the fridge…and…my baby and I are getting to spend some QT together.
4. My husband is some sort of machine. He cleans the house, cooks me dinner, brings home the bacon and is still completely in love with me. Is this some sort of Truman Show I am living?
5. This baby inside me has to come out and while I can’t at all comprehend the logistics, it will have to in the very near future. Then, milk will start spurting from my set and I will be scared to poop for days. Heavy stuff.

As we gear up for the big reveal, I contemplate just what will happen with BabyontheBrehm once the Baby is on the Brehm’s (but outside of the Brehm)…