"Walking him down, walking him down..."

Hi faithful readers! First of all, as you might suspect, this is not a "I had a baby this week" post. In fact, it feels solidly like I am not having a baby in the very near future-- still no contractions, and he hasn't yet "dropped down." But, we did have an appointment today (our usual every-other-Thursday) at the birth center. Many of the women in our October birth group have obviously had babies by now-- and we got to see two of them. There were four babies born last weekend at the birth center, which is remarkable given that they average two babies per week. Ironic, that was before this week's full moon and the front coming through DC today... two events that some stay trigger labor.
The Rookie is healthy and happy, it seems. We did a "non-stress test" where they monitored his heartbeat, and more non-contracting uterus (technically, I had a few small contractions) for 20 minutes. His average heartrate was 130 beats per minute but it varied between 110 and almost 150-- that kind of variation is common and a good sign. It was great to see how he reacted to Chris' voice-- as Chris leaned forward and started talking to him, the Rookie's heartrate shot up close to 20 beats/minute. Too cute!
Through feeling the dimensions of the baby for a few minutes, the midwife today guessed that he weighs about 8.5 lbs now (!!!!). I've been somewhat attached to the idea of seeing through this week at work (to avoid having loose ends), but I think I'll be ready for him to make an exit now that we know how big he is! Lots of long walks, etc., to bring it on. I also got a flu shot with the hopes of passing on antibodies to the Rookie, and I'm hoping I will not get flu-like symptoms or at least not go into labor feeling flu-like.
Overall, I'm feeling less comfortable, especially while trying to sleep-- lots of grunting when I attempt to roll over in bed, and I'm up every hour or so and don't get much deep sleep. I'm still walking a lot and often feel more comfortable standing/walking than in any other position. As I walked to work on Tuesday a woman I bumped into asked when I was due, and when I told her 6 days, she said "Oh, I know what you are doing. Walking him down, walking him down..." No swelling either, for which I'm grateful.
Obviously, the Red Sox need this Rookie to get in the game-- I think I'd be even more frustrating with how things are going (it's the top of the 5th and we are down 5-0 as I type) if I wasn't distracted by other October events. Oh well. After the Sox won the 2004 World Series it seemed predestined that the other big contest of that year wouldn't go my way (karma wouldn't allow it...)-- and we all know what happened with the 2004 election. So, I try to console myself that the Sox not doing well in the post-season this year could just be the tit-for-tat for a healthy baby, and a healthy change come November 4.
Well, that's the news here... basically, not BIG news but things are going well. Tomorrow is my last day at work so I'll have even more time, briefly, to keep updated on progress until things get busy and exciting here. Love to all!!!! - the vessel