One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Today we had another routine OB visit. There are always "routine" things that happen:

1) I'm met at the door of the waiting room with a pee cup labeled "Molly"...sometimes it says "Tedford", in this case, I correct the person that wrote Tedford instead of Telford and they assure it won't happen to me again, but routinely, it does:(
2) My blood pressure is taken
3) The dreaded scale
4) Waiting for the doctor to come in and do the following:
---ask if I'm having any problems? (to which I usually reply no, except for my back pain)
---the measurement of the uterus and her report of, "right on schedule"
---squirting cold gel on my tummy and the doc listening to the baby's heart rate which is getting louder and louder it seems, still sounding like the horse races
---a look from the doc, nod of the head, and "sounds good"
---"any questions?", we usually reply "no", and then we'll see you back in 2 weeks...

So, I can always count on this routine exam.

I've gotten into the habit of peaking into my chart after the doc leaves the room. I can't help it, I have to see what they write about me. I started looking to see what my weight gain was because I think that I was blocking the number on the scales each visit and forgetting from appointment to appointment what my weight gain was. Then, I continued to look to see how my blood pressure has changed since my first visits. I do appreciate the fact that they don't announce what my weight is, I can see the scales, but I can't read the blood pressure reading.

Today I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had only gained 1lb since last visit and my blood pressure was only slightly higher than it was 20 weeks ago. One column that I've not really paid attention to until today was the "estimated gestational age" (how many weeks pregnant I am) and the column that has the measurement of my uterus. I think that they are supposed to correlate, in that if I am 33 centimeters, then I should be 33 weeks. If I'm 35 centimeters at what they think is 33 weeks, then I'm measuring ahead. Something like that...

By my expert professional opinion, today marks 35 weeks. I have estimated my due date to be September 19 since I found out that I was pregnant. I've found that my body follows changes week to week and month to month consistent with this due date. My doctor has changed the due date a few times and as of today my chart read that I was 33 weeks +. The + I guess leaves the actual due date up for interpretation. So, I still will remain with my 35 week, 9/19/08 timeline. This makes the difficult days more bearable, thinking that the light at the end of the tunnel is closer rather than farther away.