the gong show

oh Uganda.

so I woke up this morning, armed with my plan to call the clinic that has done my ultrasounds before. unfortunately, Alice (the technician) wasn't in until 5pm today so I couldn't go into the clinic in time to get to my 11:30am appointment.
we decided to go to the hospital and pulled in at around 10am. I had called shortly before we left and was assured that I just needed to bring in my requisition and could get an ultrasound shortly thereafter.
when we got there, there was another (very) pregnant woman talking to a nurse and I could hear her saying something about something not being available.
I talked to the receptionist and she motioned that I also talk to this nurse. the nurse then told me that they had taken the ultrasound machine up to the NICU for an emergency and it was unavailable. but she assured me that I would be able to make my 11:30am appointment in time.
so we sat. about 5 minutes later we did see the ultrasound machine being wheeled back into the room.
I was pregnant lady #3 waiting.
eventually it was my turn and the technician was very nice and friendly and we joked about the size and lateness of this baby. he told me the baby's estimated weight was 8.5lbs but I think we all know he'll be bigger. but baby B looked good, the fluid levels looked good and he's head down and ready.
hooray!
this was great news and lovely to see my little man (all squished up in there!).
then we went over to the other part of the hospital to sign in to see the doctor (right at 11:30!) and after I had already paid and gone through triage (with HIGH blood pressure. sigh. the nurse didn't mention anything to me, though.) a nurse then decided to tell me that the doctor had been called into an emergency and was in "theater" (aka, surgery) and that he wouldn't be out until maybe around 1pm.
again, I was third on the list to see him. so Jamie and I decided to go out for lunch and come back around 1. it was a nice lunch out together and we got back to the hospital around 1:15pm.
at this point we're informed that the doctor has been called into another surgery and won't be out for maybe another 1.5 to 2 hours.
I opt to reschedule for tomorrow morning.
goodness.
so we know baby B is doing well.
which made all the driving around and everything else completely worth it.

and then...? well, Jamie and I decided to give it another shot (you know what I mean) so we put on a movie for the kids and gave them snacks and since about 5ish I've been having some mild contractions.
which is good.
but I'm not assuming anything is going to happen. but it's (again) encouraging to me to know that my body is doing something to get this kid out!

so that's the update. my appointment with the doctor is 7:30am tomorrow morning - or sooner if things actually start happening!

forty weeks

Here we are. Forty weeks. I decided to see if this shirt would fit me. Hooray for another shirt to add to my repertoire. And not a moment too late.

The last few days have been better in terms of how I've been feeling physically. Which is good. But no signs that baby B is coming any time soon, unfortunately. {specifically I'm talking the loss of a mucus plug, but that's only because I lost it both times before I went into labour with Noah and Jude, but I guess every labour is different.}
I had a bit of cramping/contractions off and on this past week, but nothing regular or frequent.

I really just want to have this baby by the end of next week so that I don't have to get my blood pressure taken {doctor's orders/recommendations}. I know it will be high. I can feel my heart racing right now and I'm sitting down. I haven't had any caffeine and I've been making sure I'm resting throughout the day, but I know it'll only be resolved once this baby is born. So come on, baby! Come already!

In the meantime, we're all stuck in this holding pattern of w a i t i n g for something - anything - to happen. I tossed and turned last night and dreamed that I gave birth to baby B at home and it was wonderful and lovely and he was just chilling on the bed after the birth and Noah wanted to hold him and it was perfect.

Then in the morning Jamie got up with the boys and I fell back to sleep until 9:15.

So here's to hoping this is my last weekly bump pic and the next picture I post is of baby B in my arms.

ps. baby B is now apparently the size of a jackfruit. which I find completely ironic as jackfruit is aplenty here in Uganda. If you've never tried it, I liken it to tasting similar to an apple, yet having a consistency of...lychee or something weird. I'm not particularly a fan, but I agree. baby B is definitely the size of a jackfruit right now. Those things are massive!

swelling

It's official. My feet are swelling. Not huge like when I was pregnant with Noah, but they are definitely swelling.
So right now the boys are getting some tv freebie time so I can put my feet UP. Jamie is also bringing dinner home tonight. I may have to lay off the dinner prep until baby comes. We'll see.
Also I can feel my heart racing off and on throughout the day. Sigh. So I'm trying to keep chill and lie down when I need to.
This baby needs to come STAT.

appointment with Dr. B

So I met up with Dr. Busingye today. I waited for a bit, but was eventually able to see him about 30 minutes after the appointment was set.
While I was waiting, I could hear a woman moaning and crying out and screaming in pain - I didn't actually see her - likely she was in labour on her way up to the maternity ward? It kinda made me smile and kinda made me freak out. As if I need or want to hear anyone else in labour...sigh. Another reason to be a bit sad that I'll not be having a home birth.

But anyway, the appointment went fine. He seems nice, he went through my birth plan with me and re-took my blood pressure; the numbers had gone down from when the nurse took it so that seemed more acceptable to him.
Now I've never had a male doctor since I was little and no men {apart from my husband of course} have ever seen my nether regions but he did a swab to test for GBS and was very professional about it all. I guess it was bound to happen eventually if he's going to be delivering my baby!

Baby's heartbeat sounded good. I'm measuring at 37 inches (cm? I think it's inches) which is right on for 37 weeks and his head is down although he's slightly off-center though Dr. B said that's nothing to be concerned about. He moves a heckuva lot anyway so I'm not worried.

Afterward I went to the lab to get my blood work done {to test for HIV - apparently it's routine here, my iron levels and something else which I forget} as well as urine testing for my sugar levels I think and to take the swab in for testing. Unfortunately I hadn't brought enough cash with me so I had to leave and come back. Thankfully I didn't have to wait and was able to just go in and get it done right after.
There are definitely times I miss using my debit card to pay directly but for the most part, paying in cash is fine. As long as you have enough.

I got the updated price list for how much it costs to deliver at the hospital. We'll pay up front but then our insurance will reimburse us. 1.9 million shillings sounds like a lot, right? It's not. $775. To have a baby! That's crazy. And that's one of the pricier hospitals here in Kampala. When I think of my American friends who pay thousands of dollars to have their baby in the hospital, several hundred dollars is chump change. Sorta.

Now I need to lie down and rest. It's been a decent but slightly stressful morning - my first appointment that I drove myself to! I feel so independent. Ha.

35 week appointment

Today was my last appointment with Michele. It was supposed to have been at 9am this morning but at 7:15am I got a text saying she was attending the birth of a woman who had gone into early labour and if I could just wait for her text to come in.
So at around mid-day (noon) I got a text asking if I'd prefer 2:30pm today or 10:30am tomorrow. We went for the 2:30 slot and arrived shortly after 2:30 due to massive rain storms and just being late in leaving the house.
Classic.
Everything looks and sounds good. The heartbeat sounds good - no ectopic beats today but we'll keep an eye/ear out for things there.
My blood pressure was (of course) a little higher than she likes to see, but I think it's just me being in Uganda - higher elevation levels? I have no idea. I'm personally not worried, but we'll keep an eye on things to be sure.
I'm measuring 33 inches so as big as I feel, I am still smaller than I've been with both other pregnancies so here's hoping for a smaller baby! He's not small by any means, but I'm hoping this means that I can expect an under 9lb baby. *crossed fingers*
We talked about where I go when I am coming in to deliver, how long they'll let me go over due (there's no rush but will likely book a 41 week physiological scan if no baby has arrived by then) and then a crazy lady walked into our room and interrupted our conversation. Awesome. Michele escorted her out and found a nurse to keep an eye out for her.
My thoughts on everything is that it may just be better to have my baby at a hospital here rather than a hospital in Canada. They seem a bit more laid back, less likely to administer or push drugs or a C-section and as I tend to be more of an independent labour-er the doctor will just be there for the end of things while the nurses/midwives will do routine checks on me (if I'm in the hospital with enough time to be labouring instead of pushing out a baby!).
So I've got my next appointment with the doctor in 2 weeks and we'll see how he is, how the appointment goes and I'm just trusting that God's plan is best and it's yet another opportunity to trust in Him to take care of me and this baby.
And now to submit my receipts (oh how I miss "free" healthcare - sure it all gets refunded back to us, but we have to pay up front here and then submit paperwork to our insurance. ugh. I hate paperwork.).

if it's not one thing, it's another

I know. I missed this week's baby bump picture. But Jamie was away. But he's home. Hooray!
I had a midwife appointment yesterday. The good news is my blood pressure has gone back down to what it was, despite it still being higher than Michele would like to see {134/85}. But still. It went down! I'm happy with that.
The other news is that when we were listening to baby B's heartbeat Michele mentioned that she had thought she heard it last time and that this time she was pretty sure that the little "blip" sound that was coming at the same time as the "whooshing" of his heartbeat is what they call an ectopic heartbeat. She quickly reassured me that it's nothing to worry about and it can happen but usually resolves itself. She wasn't entirely clear on what it was as she said she didn't know too much about it, but again reassured me that women are told not to worry about it.
Which of course means nothing to a pregnant lady.
So I googled it when I got home. There's not too much info out there except lots of other worried mommies who end up having perfectly healthy babies.
So we'll keep monitoring it and praying for healthy growth for baby B.
I can't believe I'm in my third trimester! Where has all the time gone!?
I'm getting really excited to meet this little guy and also reading lots of stories online of accidental unassisted home births. Which I probably shouldn't. But I find them less terrifying now and more fascinating.
Who knows what this delivery will be like? I just hope it's quick and we're out of the hospital ASAP.

under pressure

I met with Michele today for another appointment at the hospital. This time we brought the boys as well. It's always fun when people get to meet my kids. She said they were like two peas in a pod. In her British accent, of course. :)
The appointment went well apart from one thing. I have slightly high blood pressure. I've never had high blood pressure. In fact, I think my blood pressure may have once been on the minorly low side with one of my other pregnancies. I always heard my midwives say, "Oh lovely." or "Perfect." when they took my blood pressure before. But even from my first appointment with Michele, it was never even close to being "low". I started around 132/83 and stayed around that number, went down for my last appointment to something over 79 but today's was 134/93. Not good.
I admit I googled "high blood pressure in pregnancy" a few weeks ago - probably after my last appointment with Michele.
The good thing is that there is no trace of protein in my urine (a significant warning sign of pre-eclampsia) and I have no swelling thus far. I did have a bit of swelling in my hands with Jude and significant swelling in my feet with Noah so I'm just hoping for no swelling at all.
I'm not freaking out, but I am mildly concerned and trying to stay calm and just chill out. Part of me also wonders if I have mild white-coat syndrome or if being out on the roads here is just generally stressful for my body as I don't feel quite relaxed or myself when I'm at the hospital. It could also be that the boys were there too, although they weren't acting out our misbehaving or anything.
Either way, I would appreciate your prayers that my blood pressure comes down a bit and that nothing serious would arise from this.

**oh and I've now gained 9lbs! whew, growth spurt indeed!**