The final countdown

Another long gap between posts, which I can only explain by saying that there hasn't been much to report! That is a good thing. I am now in my 37th week and feeling pretty good. Here's a rundown on the latest:

• J and I got away this weekend to the Eastern Shore of Maryland for one last kid-free weekend away, which was a lot of fun, very relaxing, and definitely needed. We stayed in a really cute B & B in Easton, did a lot of walking around the cute towns out there, had some good food, and just generally enjoyed each other's company.
• Friday was my last day in the office, and as of today I am working at home until the baby comes. It is a huge relief not to have to commute an hour each way into the office each day, and I can't even begin to describe my relief at not having to sit in an office chair. It was really doing a number on my back. The couch is much, much more comfortable!
• This morning we had an appointment with a pediatric urologist at Children's National Medical Center downtown. This has been on the calendar for about three weeks, and we were referred there because the baby's kidneys are enlarged (a condition called hydronephrosis). Basically, the inside area of her kidneys is enlarged, indicating that either fluid is not draining properly from the kidneys to the bladder, or there is a reflux problem causing the fluid to back up into the kidneys from the bladder. We liked the doctor we saw and felt good about his plan for her care after she is born. Basically, they will put her on preventive antibiotics as soon as she is born, since there is a risk of infection once she starts eating. Then, when she is three weeks old, we will take her back to CNMC for an ultrasound of her kidneys and another test where they'll use a catheter and an x-ray with contrast to get a good look at how fluid is moving around down there. We're not crazy about the idea of our baby having a procedure like that, but we know they know what they're doing and trust them to take good care of her. Best case scenario, she will grow out of all of this within the first few years of life, and they'll just have to monitor it regularly until that happens.
• Now that I've passed the 36 week mark, I am having twice weekly non-stress tests, to make sure that everything is still going as it should. Today was the first one. Basically, I go to the L & D unit at the hospital and get hooked up to two monitors: one that records the baby's heart rate, and another that records the frequency and intensity of contractions (yep, I'm having regular contractions!). They hook me up and I lay there and relax for 20-30 minutes, and then they call my OB and let him know the results, and he says either I can stay pregnant for another half a week, or they should check me in and baby's on her way. Today, the baby's heart rate was "normal and reactive," which means I can stay pregnant until Thursday, when they'll check it all again. It was actually kind of cool to lay there and listen to her heartbeat, and to be able to see on the monitors that the contractions are actually happening.
• My mom will be here in 12 days! She's coming two weeks before the due date, so it's all starting to feel really real and close. We can hardly wait to hold our baby girl!

That's it for now. Thanks for your continued support, and we'll keep you posted!