so far, so good

I had my follow up check up today after school with Dr. Maurus. I have now gained about 17 pounds, my blood pressure was good and the baby's heartbeat was going strong at 145 bpm (it's finally starting to slow down!). He said based on my description of my right side pain yesterday it was most likely a round ligament getting pulled or stretched, and all the pressure and discomfort is really now being caused by the baby's ever-growing size. I asked him about whether or not he thought the baby had dropped, and he said he could see a difference but the best indication of whether or not she has dropped is my own perception: if I have noticed my walking changing, if I'm feeling pressure, if I notice I can breath easier, have to pee more, etc. All of these symptoms are true, so I think it's safe to say our little munchkin is making her way down in the right direction!

He said it's his hope and goal to get to 38 weeks before the baby comes and wouldn't be surprised if that is when she comes, but also mentioned the possibility that she could come at any point. If she does start to come on her own, she's far enough alon gthat he wouldn't do anything to stop it at this point. We talked for a while about contractions and what I need to pay attention to and then he sent me on my merry way.

I'm relieved that he said he doesn't think, at this point, we have much of a reason to believe she's going to come within the next one or two weeks. Saturday is going to be a long day in the car, but I'm very much looking forward to seeing everyone one last time before she comes so I'm glad I didn't get placed on any serious restrictions. 3 weeks from now is the week of March 22, and I am totally cool with her coming after that. Of course after all this speculating and guessing, we will probably have a largely overdue April baby and looking back we will all laugh at our foolishness. But my instinct is telling me we will have our baby before the month is over, so I guess we shall see how keen my instincts really are!