During my prenatal visit, the nurse also listened for my baby's heartbeat and it was in the low 140s. I was a little worried, because it seems to have slowed down since the first time that they listened to the heartbeat which was in the 160s. But I was told that this was normal and that a baby's heartbeat can fluctuate anywhere between the 120s and 160s. The nurse also checked my weight and told me that my weight was down and that I needed to eat more. I told the nurse about my morning sickness and the headaches that I was having. I started to take Tylenol to relive my headaches. I know that was the reason why I have not been gaining the weight. I weighed in at 131.5 at this checkup while the last one was 131lb.

At my week 28 visit, I brought my husband in to meet my doctor. My prenatal doctor told us that I may not deliver until the beginning of January since this was my first baby. I guess most women who have a baby for the first time usually go over their due dates. And since my due date was the 29th, my ob-gyn doctor thought that I would deliver in January. My though was that I'd rather have my baby in December and perhaps before Christmas. My doctor also checked my cervix and found out that I was 3cm dilated and 50% effaced. This was a very good sign, but does not mean that I would deliver anytime soon. She said she would scrape my membrane about three weeks later.

I was very excited about the news. I thought there was a very good chance that I might have my baby early. I heard that eating spicy food might help get there faster, so I started eating a couple of things that were spicy. I've been trying to eat healthy throughout this pregnancy, but its easier said than done. I would still drink sodas every now and then and would have some coffee and chocolate for caffeine even though its not good for me. I have limited the amount of fast food that I ate. And I have been eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, so that's not terrible. I would have liked to have drank more milk, but it was on and off for me. I started drinking more milk in my third trimester.

I had another prenatal visit during the first week of December. This time the doctor did not do anything but the normal weight check, feel feel for the baby and listened for the heartbeat. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping to hear whether or not I was dilated further. She said that she would check again on my next prenatal visit which was a week later.

On December 12th, I was in my 37th week of pregnancy. I had a normal visit and was checked for dilation again. My ob-gyn doctor felt that I was 4cm dilated and still 50% effaced. This was a very, very good sign again. While some women go into labor who have not dilated , I was already at 4cm and 50% effaced out of 10cm and 100% effaced. I was almost halfway there. My husband and I were hoping to see our baby in December so we were trying to do everything we could to have an early delivery. I asked my doctor if she would scrape my membrane and she said she would on my next prenatal visit.  I do think she may have done a little bit during this visit because I experienced some light bleeding. But if she did, it was not as painful as I have read other pregnant women say it would be.