33 Week Reality Check!

This morning I had my 33 week check up....but by my math, it should have been 34 weeks. I'll get to that in a minute. Since I've been so spoiled with ultrasounds each visit, I didn't know what to expect at a "normal" doctor's appointment. I was quickly taken back to the nurse's station, weighed, NOT my favorite part, and had my blood pressure taken. It was great, at 105/60. I was whisked away to a room, and I patiently waited for what was next. A nurse came in soon after and had a fetal doppler in hand, with the gooey blue ultrasound gel on the wand. I uncovered my belly and she placed the warmed goo on the baby. It actually took a minute or so for her to locate the heartbeat. I wasn't nervous, but it was just unexpected...I mean, how far away could the baby "run" away at this point? Anyway, when she found the heartbeat, it was strong. It sounded different than the "whoosh whoosh" I was used to hearing. It was more like our heartbeat sound...a "thump thump," and registering around 142 beats per minute. She helped me back to a sitting position (yes, I need help up these days!) and I was told the doctor was running a little late from surgery. I was scheduled to see a new doc today....he came in not too far behind the nurse. He said he'd already seen 3 other women at 33 weeks today. I said, "I'm probably the biggest of them all." I guess he was being nice, because he said, "No, you aren't too big." Anyway, he had me lie back down, and measured my "fundus," or the length from my pelvis to the top of my uterus. It's supposed to coincide with how many weeks you are....33 cm for 33 weeks, etc. I didn't ask, and he didn't tell me what I was measuring. He then asked me if I had any complaints, to which I replied, just the normal ones. I told him I'm swelling some in my hands and feet. He said I'd come back in 2 weeks, then my visits would be each week, thereafter, until I deliver. No mention was made as to my fluid levels, or any future ultrasounds. Okay, so back to the "reality check." I asked him, because the baby has been consistently measuring so big, when would we decide if I'll go early. His reponse, a rhetorical one, I suppose....."You tell me." Hmmm. Okay, I get it. No one knows when "it" will happen. He said the ultrasounds can be up to 15% in error, so we truely don't know the size of the baby. Also, he said, until I'm in labor, we don't know how well, or how poorly, my body will be able to handle delivering, no matter the size. Basically, I have to sit and wait it out. Another word for that is patience. If you know me at all, you know this is, well, not one of my stronger traits. In the official doctor's records, my due date is April 5th. I've been saying April 1st all along, one, because I've been measuring ahead, and two, because Brian would love to have an April Fools baby. The doctor told me that, on average, first babies come 5 days PAST the due date. So, technically, they could let me go ALL the way to April 10th!! UGH. Here I am thinking maybe March 26th, March 30th, but now I have to face the reality that it could be past Easter!!! EEEeeeek. We'll know more once my pelvic exams start, week 36, when they'll start checking for dialation and effacement. Hang in there people! It's a guarantee that we'll have a baby in the next 7 weeks (but boy am I hoping for more like 5!)