Yesterday

Yesterday, 5/14/2010, was a big day for several reasons. We started the day with another ultrasound at UNC (I think this was our sixth or seventh, total). The purpose of the ultrasound was to determine whether Orion's 'path out' was obstructed in any way by the two larger fibroids. The big one is basically right under my belly button and is visible due to the lump it makes on my abdomen. The second one is smaller, but is located somewhere in the back. This presents a small problem because it's no longer visible behind Orion, even in an ultrasound. However, the OB/GYN, Dr. Wolfe, at UNC didn't seem to think that there were any problems, seeing as how Orion's head is beneath the big fibroid and he seems to have plenty of amniotic fluid and room to move. He certainly does move around a lot (like right now), so I can verify that.
We also determined that he's now a little over 7lbs, and continues to look like a fat, healthy baby - chubby cheeks and all. He's head-down, but hasn't yet 'engaged' or 'dropped', so we're (probably) still a few weeks away from delivery.
The sweet ultrasound tech tried hard, once again, to get a good picture of his face, but Orion is coy or maybe just camera shy. He also seems to hide behind his placenta, hands, or umbilical cord, and this time was no different. The pic here is of his face with the umbilical cord in front of it. He was sleeping during the ultrasound, but was also making some funny faces and practicing the sucking motion that is soon to serve him so well!
We came home and Russell accomplished things around the house while I napped. I've been sleeping very erratically, so mid-day naptimes have become tantamount to my survival and personal well-being! I just can't seem to sleep at night or for long periods of time, despite making a lot of effort toward doing so. I've been pretty worn out and tired in general, which isn't surprising, considering we're at 37+ weeks now. Besides that, I'm carrying large due to the fibroids, so I actually look/measure as though I'm past-term; around 42-43 weeks. That's a lot of weight to be carrying around, for sure. I'm looking forward to being done with the pregnancy part of this adventure!
In the afternoon we headed over to the Birth and Wellness Center for our weekly appointment. We saw Kate (one of the midwives) and she also didn't seem to think that there would be a problem with Orion getting past the fibroids. As far as she was concerned, it should be all clear for me to deliver at the Women's Birth and Wellness Center, although there was a note a my chart to have 'close supervision' in early labor just to be sure Orion is all right. She put my chart in for review during the regular Tuesday meeting, so there's could be a change of plans still, but hopefully everything will go smoothly and we'll be able to birth at the BC.
As we were leaving the BC, we also received the form to register Orion as a person and a US resident. This sort of blew our minds a bit, as we realized that we needed to make final decisions about his name - including our future last name(s). We put the form aside to think about, as we've got some big decisions to make about getting hitched, insurance, name changes, and other life details.
It appears that our ducks are mostly in a row at this point in the game; Russell even installed the car seat bases in both of our vehicles yesterday, which is an important detail. I still need to pack my birthing bag, but I do have a list made and my iPod updated, so I could do that at any time.
We have one more session of our Birthing from Within class on Monday evening, which should be a good night for us. I've enjoyed these classes, especially how connected Russell and I feel after attending them. It's been a very positive experience.
And now there's just a few weeks to go, anywhere between 2 and 4, but I'm still guessing he'll arrive late this month - around the 26-28. We'll just have to wait and see!