32 weeks

...and I'm not even that excited. No that's not true, I'm happy to have reached 32 weeks, but only because it's on the way to 34. After my Chinese-public-hospital trauma, I will not relax until I'm safe to be accepted at the very nice clinic perched on the tallest mountain in Hong Kong. Yes, I'm superficial but I think that after 18 weeks of bedrest and with no prospects of ever getting off my couch, I deserve la crème de la crème.

Talking of bedrest, I raised the issue today with Dr. G.: when or rather, will I ever go off it?! All I could get from him was that he would progressively give me more freedom "depending on how my body reacts". Ugh, that's not good news. My body usually reacts to more activity by contracting more. I'm trying to prepare myself for the possibility of a 22 weeks bedrest. That's right, that's 5 1/2 months of my life spent laying on a day bed in my living room.

Now for the good news: despite all the contractions, the beloved cervix remains closed at 3.5cm, which is wonderful. And the big headed Bean is growing well. Yes, my baby has a big head. But it's filled with brains and my baby will be the most intelligent baby ever.

We met a doula for the first time today. (A birth doula is a labor support person who provides continuous emotional, physical, and informational support to the birthing woman and her family before, during, and after birth).
I was afraid she was going to be some hippy trying to force us into a natural birth, at home, in a bathtub. But she was absolutely lovely, modern and didn't say anything against our decision to have a planned c-section. On the contrary, she was very supportive, talked us through the whole process and made us feel very comfortable about it. I was on the verge of tears throughout the entire meeting, not only because of my raging hormones, but because we finally met someone who understands what we are going through and takes all the parameters into account. In short, I love her.
She gave us the idea of burning a CD to play before and during the surgery, to make us feel better. The idea is wonderful, but hubby has already put "Gimme Shelter" (yes, the original version!) on the playlist. Note to self: must remember to switch CDs before leaving for the hospital.