On Wednesday we had my first weekly appointment - and the only one, it would seem, that will not include an ultrasound. Edward has been stellar about accompanying me, but his aunt was in town this week from New Brunswick so she came with me instead and got to drive our new minivan :)
The nurse was a little confused as to the nature of our appointment (it was booked by the replacement doctor we had a few weeks ago), but she ran the usual checks: good fetal heartrates on the doppler and a blood pressure reading of 112 over 60. Our OB then decided to manually check my cervix. Apparently, every now and again they like to step away from the ultrasound's measurement of cervical length and feel for themselves. They can tell a lot from the exam, including the positioning of the babies, and whether the cervix is long and closed, soft or hard. He thought about doing another fetal fibronectin test, considering the last one was inconclusive, but then pronounced that my cervix was still long and closed and the babies hadn't dropped into my pelvis - in his experience, the test would likely have come back negative. He told me that he thinks I have at least another few weeks left in me :) Our next appointment is the 15th... and then I only have 4 more, the last one being two days before my c-section date.
Having Edward's aunt here was a huge help. She knocked several projects off The List, and went on numerous missions armed with her Garmin GPS to pick up various and sundry items from lampshades and cribs, to extension cords, turtle food and upholstery trim. She used said trim to re-do a rather tricky chair. My "Activities Director" (ie. Edward) wasn't keen on the idea of me tackling it a second time - I reupholstered it myself about a year ago, but the master bedroom decor has changed. So, his aunt, ever game to take on a challenge, came to the rescue and did a fantastic job! She also cooked up a storm, adding to our freezer bonanza. Both she and Edward filled our first Supperworks order on Thursday night. We'll wait until the babies are born to sample the goods, but it came recommended by a close friend (hi Tania!) and it feels good to have a several meals waiting in the wings.
In non baby news, we were kept on our toes the past week by a stubborn external natural gas leak. I was not aware of this, but the pipes on the right-hand side of the gas meter are actually the responsibility of the home owner, and any problems will cost; in our case to the tune of almost $600! We had been smelling gas in the driveway for a loooong time. But because the meter reader AND the crew who redid the entire meter structure over one week this summer never commented on the strong smell, I thought it was normal. Last week, a visitor to the house noted the odour and urged us to get it checked out. So we dutifully called Embridge and their inspector came out and found a small gas leak on one of the pipes on "our" side of the meter. He shut off the gas, and we called a contractor who fixed the leak for $200. Not twenty minutes after he left, I noticed the smell was lingering. It was the long weekend, so we waited until Tuesday and called Embridge back. They sent another inspector, who informed Edward's aunt that he was "fixing a leak" - ostensibly on the gas company's side of the meter because he was able to complete the work - but he left without telling us what he did, or elaborating on what, if any, problem he had discovered. Today, we could smell gas even more strongly. So we called Embridge and they sent out a third inspector. This guy was awesome. He couldn't initially find a leak, but he could definitely smell it. He spent half an hour trying to locate the problem and discovered that the supply pipe going into the house (of course, on "our" side of the meter) was so corroded, he could pick pieces off with his bare hands! He qualified this as a major gas leak, and shut everything off. We called the contractors back who replaced the entire pipe for $395. We'll see what happens...
I am absolutely furious that it took THREE inspectors to locate the issue. It would seem that as soon as they found a leak, they didn't bother to check for any others. And I'm shocked that possibly three leaks were found in one meter! I'm not any more pleased with the contractors... the company is claiming that their first employee fixed the leak he was told about. I argued that due diligence suggests he would recheck all the joints and fittings before flipping the gas back on and walking away from the job, regardless of what he read on the inspector's report. This is gas were talking about! Thank God we got this fixed when we did, and that no one ever smoked in the driveway. I shudder to think what could have happened as that pipe continued to corrode.
In any case, it's fixed... hopefully.
On Monday, we're hitting the big 3-0 milestone! We're very excited to have a Civic delivery in our sights, and even happier that it will kick-off the one month countdown to D(elivery)-Day! I'm very anxious to see the babes on ultrasound next week, particularly when it comes to their guesstimated weights. I've been ravenously hungry these past two weeks (I gained 6 POUNDS in one week - eep!), and I'm hoping that will translate into at least one 3 pound baby... come ooooon, Baby B!
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