Prenatal Appointment - May 3

So, all is well with both Nugget and myself. Our midwife is very happy with my weight gain. I've packed on about 20 lbs so far - with about 6 weeks worth of gaining to go. About half of any future weight gained will be going directly to Nugget - the average weight gain for a woman to gain is about a pound a week - and usually half a pound goes directly toward making baby look like a fat little cherub. So if we extrapolate, when all is said and done, I will have gained approximately 26 lbs over the course of the pregnancy. Of that 26 lbs, about 8 lbs (give or take) will be Nugget, 1.5 - 2 lbs will be Nugget's placenta, about 12 lbs is a combination of amniotic fluid, uterine enlargement, increased blood volume, and fluids in maternal tissue. Plus, about a pound or two is all in my breasts . So really when it comes down to it, not a whole lot of my weight gain is fat that needs to be "burned" after Nugget and his/her placenta and amniotic fluid comes out - most of it will be taken care of naturally in the course of the month or so after Nugget's arrival with regular uterine shrinking and a naturally decreasing blood and fluid volume. Our midwife told me right out that she suspects that within a month or so of breastfeeding I'll be right back to "normal" and maybe a little less with the exception of my breasts (which I'm perfectly okay with!). She even noted that I'd have to watch that I don't loose too much weight since I have a naturally fast metabolism and will be putting extra energy into breastfeeding.

She also noted that Nugget is growing at a perfect rate. Nugget's heart sounds great too. And, Nugget is head down (and has been for weeks now), which bodes well for birth.

My blood pressure has remained remarkably steady - I've been at 110/70 at every prenatal visit. This time I was slightly lower at 100/66, but still well within that normal range, and nothing to write home about. This bp is actually closer to my pre-pregnancy normal - which is usually about 100/60.

Nothing else is really exciting about our progress, but I figured you'd all like to hear that Nugget and I are doing really well. 6 more weeks and counting!