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Wow, it seems like Acid Reflux is pretty common here. Funny, with my first 2 I never got it but with this one boy oh boy is it awful. ALL NIGHT LONG!!!! BLEAH!!!!

Perl, what happened at your appointment?

Christa and everyone: the appointment sucked. I felt like c___p all day yesterday (short of breath, cranky and with lots of contractions throughout the day) and I was put into an exam room with no air conditioner, the Dr. was running 20 min late and I felt like the appointment was rushed. She did the Strep B swab. I'll get my results at my appointment next week. Baby seemed fine but is measuring big again by 3 centimeters this time!! I freaked out and told her I must have a HUGE baby. She said not necessarily-hard to tell. I told her that was inconsistent with his 1-2 cm over and then she told me she might have done it wrong (that's how rushed she was). I figured maybe it was because baby was sticking his b___t straight up the center of my belly. We'll see how he measures next week. She told me my pelvis was narrow, again. But not overly narrow that baby should get stuck in there. This is not something I like to hear--it just means that an already painful experience will be slightly more painful for me because the opening in the pelvis is narrow right? Why bother telling me at all? My cervix is still closed and not even finger sized width so she told me to expect baby to come pretty close to my due date (darn! I was hoping for 2 weeks) but then she went ahead and gave me a handout called "Labor instructions" just in case. Have a great weekend everyone!

Perl - so sorry to hear your appointment was c___ppy. Just wanted to say that my mum was also told that she had a very narrow pelvis and that she'd never give birth naturally. Not only did she give birth naturally to three healthy babies (the second of which was huuuuuuuuuuuuge!!) but she also says that her first experience of labour (my eldest brother) was really easy and she remembers saying she didn't know what all the fuss about having a baby was all about!! TEE HEE HEE! Hope that makes you feel a bit better. Don't panic - relax and try to enjoy the last few weeks as much as you can. Big Hugs!

Hi Perl, I know its frustrating, same with me 37 weeks and no dilation, no labour pain, nothing, i wanted this baby near or close to due date but it looks like I will be induced one week after due date. Each day I pray water will break before hand. I just want to see my baby. lolll good luck

Hopeful: thanks soooo much for the rea__surance. I was hoping for a delivery a couple of weeks sooner than due date for lots of reasons including the fact that I think that a less chubby baby would be slightly less painful for through the narrow pelvis. I was picturing a temporarily coneheaded baby with scratched up head/face because of the bones (poor baby). Your mum's story makes me feel MUCH better. I hope I can say the same thing she did after her first labor. : ) ****Anna: I understand your frustration in not wanting to be induced. Don't give up yet a LOT can happen in 3 weeks! I'll pray it happens for both of us sooner rather than after our due dates.

Sorry for the fragmented sentence---I meant to say I hope it (narrow pelvis) does not cause too much trouble or pain for either the baby or for me. I realize that somewhere in this big world some woman has had it worse off than I and has survived so I know that I'll be okay too! But in this case I'd rather be in the average to broad pelvis category. : )

Perl...don't let the first time jitters get to you too much, that will cause more undo stress than anything. Narrow pelvis, wide pelvis...it's all voodoo really. We women have been birthing babies for millions of years...amazingly our bodies will do what they need to do. Unfortunately modern medicine has stuck it's nose in everything (LOL, I know, I am in the field) and has decided this or that which is really a bunch of hooey. Remember, one step at a time (please remind me of this when I go into a tail spin later...LOL)

Perl: my sister, who is not much tallar or wider than me (I'm 5'2" and usually about 120 pounds) gave birth to a 10 pound baby boy at home in her bed,. and yes, by choice and against medical advice. SHe was fine, didnt' even need an apisiotomy (think she might have mentioned the midwive did message or something like that). Anyway, try not to worry about what will happen if you can because you can bet your a__s that your OB will be paying full attention during labor. That specialtiy doesn't need 100k of malpractice liabilty per year for nuttin'!!! They will take GOOD care of you when the time comes. I'm always miffed when my OB spends 3 seconds with me, too. I actually had to REMIND him about going off the Lovenox I'm on (or whether to swtich to heprin) so that I don't bleed out during C, or if preterm happens!!!! And I'm not sure how many 'pounds' your little guy is, but if you feel any better about all, mine is probably weighing in at around 7 pound about now.............and If I were to go to term, he wouild probably be well over 9 at this rate. Take care, and keep posting..... :)

Perl just curious how do they know if your pelvis is narrow?

PERL: Hope you have a chance to check in soon....everything okay?

Anna: my OB told me my pelvis is narrow during a couple of my pelvic exams. I have several cousins who are extremely slim and have had normal v____al births so I was surprised since I'm only on the average to small side (but nowhere near as thin as my waifish size 0 or size 3 cousins). I don't think you can really tell by looking at a person's weight or dress size how wide or narrow her pelvic opening is. Hip width is not the same as the size of the pelvic openings (pelvic inlet/outlet) that are between your hips and is checked by a pelvic exam. The statistics are not great: 50% chance of c-section because of labor that does not progress because of narrow pelvis versus only 7% chance of section for same reason in women who have average to broad size pelvic openings. I'm finding lots of other women out there who had the same problem and attempted v____al births but ended up needing emergency c-sections because their babies would just not fit through their narrow pelvis. But it sounds as if there are some who were able to deliver naturally anyway (like Hopeful's mom and Happygal's sis) and there's still that other 50%---so I hope I'll be one of the lucky ones.

Perl: just to let you know, things can go either way. With my first child I was in labor ALONG time and pushing for 6 hours, my mom kept insisting I needed a c-section because both my sisters needed one with theirs and I'm MUCH SMALLER than them (5' tall and 95 lbs) but the Dr.'s kept insisting I had PLENTY OF ROOM to deliver v____ally. Well after pushing for 6 hours (after 30 some hours of hard labor, NO LIE) they decided to do a section because my dd would not fit through my pelvis. So they said I had plenty of room and they were wrong so you never know....it could go either way!!! Good luck either way you get your wonderful little bundle of joy. I DON'T regret having a section at all.

Thoughts and mad ramblings...please stick with me here...I have a wish for you first time mommies (and we of more experience) First I would like to say how hard it was being a first time Mom and I think additionally harder because I was older. I was able to have more thought and reason into my everyday caring of my child. I was paranoid about this or that and I over thought other things that could have happened. There was no naiveness to my actions when it came to my son. I read EVERYTHING! I was worried when the books said that at this stage your child should be blah blah blah, and he wasn't...or why wasn't he? Was he normal? Did what I did in pregnancy (or lack or what I did) cause him to be slow? retarded? Have a lower IQ? Turns out, he is an above average kid...described to me this weekend as someone who is a natural leader and very charismatic. (He is a stone cold fox too...trust me!) I have up reading all those books and magazines etc...and I strated worrying less. I used my instincts instead of my over active imagination and brain. If I had a question, I'd ask someone...or look it up...If i felt I needed a different idea on how to discipline or anything else I would only look up that specific. I am a great mom. I do not force my son to eat something he won't eat, but I pay attention to when he is willing to tryy something he has previously shunned. Tonight he ate some tomato with out grimacing and he also ate 2 pieces of cuc_mber whick previously just sat on his tongue until I told him it was ok to spit it out or to wash it down with a drink. He even acted like he may like them now. The food battle is not one I wanted to fight him on, I will save that for the stuff that really matter, like drugs and such. I have give him a routine all his life. I make sure that 97% of the time he does the exact same bedtime routine, after school, morning etc...he does them without question and when told to go to bed...he goes in a stays there. No bargaining like I hear my friends say...I am not saying my way is best...but it worked for us because I was in tune with my child versus what the books said should be. I see mothers on this board and the other board readinf way too much into things...I am unfortunately not the best with words...written or spoken...I come off vey stern and dry...just the way I am. I always mean well and try not to judge others as best I can. I do want to give our "November Mom's" the gift of what I have learned. To relax and trust in YOUR own instincts. Don't use what an author (including myself) as the only way of doing things or the right way. Do what is best for you and your families. It will vary. We can give eachother ideas of what worked and then we can mold it into what will work for us. If it be exactly the same or with a twist. Also...think of the KISS method...keep it simple stupid (lol). All the baby products in the world and are marketed to us really are not that neccesary. First timers are most often taken for a ride by manufacturers because we don;t know better...( I had just about everything under the sun) this time is much less and more quality. All those must have's will be taking up a lot of space when you realise you really don't need them. I have so much more to say but am now lost in space...seem so tired and lethargic today. Take care and I hope this has not offended but has offered some peace to what are probably wild and crazy thoughts this time in our pregancies.

Perl~Don't worry so much about your pelvis. The ob told my cousin the exact same thing and she had a 9lb. 7 oz. baby that came through her pelvis with no problem except for a minor tear. Look at it this way - they can usually tell if it is not progressing due to pelvic room, and if it's not, then they will order a section - if you're afraid the baby will get stuck, don't be. They will use the vacuum and make an incision to open you more if need be. I don't think I ever heard of a baby getting stuck. I'm sure you will deliver just fine, but if not, like I said, they will just give you a section. Unfortunately, It's one of those wait and see things. Doctor's can usually tell what is going on as to why a woman is not progressing. Sometimes it's not that the baby won't fit, but that the baby is just not descending. My sister was in labor for like 13 hours and my niece just did not want to come down. After hours of labor and an epi, the doctor finally ordered her a section and they were both fine, healthy, and needless to say my sister was very happy that it was all over. Christa~From a second time mom, well said. With Jacob I used my heart and what felt right. Frig the books. They will drive woman mental!!! They are good to look up certain things, but the woman that live their baby's lives through them, I truly feel sorry for, because they will never know what to do on their own or in their own way. Experience & knowledge comes with time. One will never get this living their lives out of a book. I think what you said made sense and yes, during this time in our pregnancy's, I think we are all freakin for different reasons each of us. We will all be GREAT and FANTASTIC once it's said and done. You all just see!!

P.S. I recently have noticed swelling. I was doing great until I hit 33 weeks and now I notice my fingers only have been extra puffy kind of. My ankles and face seem fine, it's just my fingers. I'm in my 35th week this week. I can't believe it!! When I was 8 weeks, I knew I was in for a long journey and was so depressed that 9 months seemed SO LONG to get to and now look. Here I am and almost over. Here's to all of us having the strength and courage to get through the next 4 or 5 weeks coming, because boy is it going to get tough!!!