doctor's appointment #2 here

I had another doctor's appointment today. We were fortunate to have everything timed just perfectly. We got to the first bus stop two minutes before the bus came, got to the next station two minutes before that bus left, and got to the tram just as it was pulling away. Couldn't have timed that better! It's amazing how much extra time you have to plan for travel when you are taking public everywhere you go.

The best part about today is that I got another ultrasound. I am told that I can have a couple more, too. Yeah for affordable healthcare in Europe! The doctor went through every single part and measured bones, skull, stomach, etc. He turned on the sound so that we could hear the baby's heart beat. I don't know why everyone is so concerned about being quiet around a baby. It's so loud inside! Everything measured at 31 weeks and 4 days, which is EXACTLY what I am. That too is amazing. Kevin and I were talking about how amazing it is that any human life can come into this world when so many things have to go "just right." Obviously we know that it is because God is our creator, and he's in charge. But even so, it amazes me to think that God can take care of those tiniest little details that form human life and also the major things that happen all around the world every single day. How incredible is God?!

Anyway, the heart beat has slowed down to a normal growing baby rate, instead of the ultra fast one in the first ultra sound. We could see it pumping inside the chest and the major artery running through the body as well. We got to see the liver and the bladder filled with urine, which the doctor says means that the systems are all working. We got to see all of the legs and arms and the spine. I loved being able to see the ribs and backbone before he even had to tell me that's what they were. Again, amazing to think that a baby is growing inside of me! Oh, and I am being extra careful not to mention any gender specific pronouns for those of you who don't want to know what we are having.

The doctor also went over more blood work and tests they had done on me last time that they wanted to re-check or extra tests that aren't done in the US. Everything is completely normal in all categories for me except iron. He prescribed an iron pill for me to take, as I need to get that back up. It makes sense now as to why I have been so incredibly tired all hours of the day. I haven't been eating much red meat or green leafy vegetables either, which are good sources of iron. Other than that, he said that everything else looked just perfect, even my size and everything. I am just getting used to the metric system, as I am weighed in kilos and the baby in grams. Kevin and I had to keep converting to calculate how much we both weighed. 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds. I am managing not to gain any weight, which is odd as I can put on weight like nobody's business. I actually lost almost a whole kilo. So weird. And the baby weighs 1700 grams. 1000 grams = 1 kilo. I looked at Kevin, and he did some quick calculations to tell me that was just under 4 pounds. The doctor said that it was perfect!

On the way back we stopped for lunch and had a nice leisurely time. We learned some new things about traveling by public during the day, rather than the evening or weekend which is when we have done it in the past. We took a different final bus back home and thought we were on the wrong one after not recognizing any place we were going, but I guess we just took the scenic route as we did eventually make it back home. I crashed on the chair and came back to school to get some things done now!

Kevin heads to the high school retreat tomorrow morning and won't be back until Saturday afternoon. Although I will still be teaching at school, I am going to miss hanging out with him these next few days. It's not the end of the world, but I look forward to the end of school and walking over to see him and hanging out with him until dinner. That sort of thing also makes my day, even though I didn't write that on my blog yesterday. :)