The Latest

I had my 39 week appointment today and here are the stats... that as usual, really don't mean much: 2 centimeters dilated, 60% effaced, baby is head down but still pretty high. But at least the cramps & contractions this weekend weren't completely in vain.

I did find out that the only day my doctor is on call this week is Wednesday... (yet another reason why that day, 7-8-9, would be perfect!) :) But really, any of the other doctors in the practice would be just fine.

I did something I've never done before today. I was in the exam room (undressed from the waist down of course) and it seemed to be taking an unusually long time. I looked at my phone and saw that I had been sitting there for 35 minutes. I remembered Carletta telling me how one time she sat and waited for over an hour only to find out they had accidentally forgotten her... so I told myself I'd wait 5 more minutes, and then since I couldn't step out the door without getting redressed, I'd just use my cell phone to call the front desk. No one showed up, so I called. I didn't want to seem impatient, but I couldn't hear anyone in the hallway and I hated to sit there if they had forgotten me. The receptionist told the nurse and she popped in and said it would be just a few more minutes. Sure enough, the doctor came in shortly and she was really sweet and apologetic, and I told her it was no problem... so it all worked out. :) Sitting undressed for 40 minutes on an exam table with your legs dangling and no back support isn't exactly comfortable anytime, let alone when you're 39 weeks pregnant!

Could it be?

I've decided that everything about pregnancy is really just a mystery. For every symptom that could be one thing, it could just as easily be something else! :)

• Swelling in one leg: it could be a blood clot, or it could be completely normal.
• Pain in your lower abdomen before 37 weeks: it could be preterm labor, or the baby might just be positioned akwardly.
• Dilated 1 cm: you could go into labor tonight, or it could be 4 more weeks.
• And my latest... what feels like menstrual cramps nearly all day: definitely the onset of early labor, but still... it could take hours, it could take days, it could take weeks.

So while it's definitely hard not to wonder and try to figure out what's going on, I am definitely learning to just make mental notes, and keep on waiting. :) It's not like I really have another option anyway. But.. talk about making a girl crazy! What gets me through: No matter what, BabyW will DEFINITELY be here within the next 4 weeks. Guaranteed. I'd rather it be more like 4 days, but the end is definitely in sight! :)

Oh how I love getting a great deal!!

I made my first Craigslist purchase tonight and I'm so excited! I found a couple selling a brand new Baby Bjorn carrier - in the box - for $25!!! I had registered for the exact same one - which costs $79.99 - at BabiesRUs.

So while Mike is at the movies watching Terminator with some guys, Shelby and I headed down Cedar Road to pick up the Baby Bjorn. The couple selling it was really sweet and it was in GREAT shape! So then to top off the good find of the night, we stopped by Bruster's Ice Cream where I got a Maple Walnut Waffle Cone and Shelby enjoyed her free Doggie Sundae! I even got a call from Elsie and got to hear all about how she and Jocelyn are doing. I may not have had my feet propped up like the doctor said, but it was a fun night and now I'm going to go pop in a chick flick, prop up my fat ankles and call it a night!

Oh, and for the quick doctor's appointment update: Apparently my cervix is soft but closed. Well... since my doctor thought 1 cm last week, but the other doctor thought closed this week... I'm somewhere between closed and 1 cm. A bit of a bummer... but really, these things don't even mean anything. I could still go into labor tonight or sometime in the next 5 weeks. :) Stay tuned...

36 Week Update

I had my first weekly doctor's appointment today, and much to my doctor's surprise and mine, I am dilated about 1 cm. No effacement, but she said his head is down nice and low and that things are definitely moving in the right direction. So what does this mean? Well, it means I could go into labor in the next few days... OR maybe sometime in the next month. LOL. Basically, it doesn't mean a whole lot at all. Not at this point. But it is encouraging, and definitely closer than being completely closed. I'll probably get a better idea of how things are progressing at next week's appointment. So, stay tuned.

This really should motivate me to get off the computer and go pack my bag for the hospital!! Hmmm... maybe I will... you know, just in case. :)

Something Good, Something Surprising & a Mystery

I had another checkup today (31 weeks) and was really anxious to talk to the doctor (well actually it was the midwife I saw today) because of the intense pain I've had for 4-8 hours every single day since last Tuesday.

So the good news is this: my cervix is fully closed and shows no thinning yet, which means I'm not showing any visible signs of preterm labor. Very Very good news. They still sent off a sample to the lab to check one other type of preterm labor sign, and I'll find out those results tomorrow. Pray it comes back negative or else I'd get put on bedrest.

The surprising news: I measured right on target for 31 weeks (not big) and from just an external exam, the midwife said I shouldn't have much excess fluid because she could feel the baby easily (so can I). If I did have a lot of extra fluid, he would be floating around more in there and would be hard to feel from just touching my belly. He may not even be particularly big. Maybe this boy will stick in there to full-term!

The mystery (the most positive way I can word it): We still have no idea what is causing my pain to be so intense and so persistent. From an OB standpoint, the pregnancy looks great and other than round ligament pain, she doesn't see anything else pregnancy-wise that could be causing it. No infection, most likely no preterm labor... but this still leaves me with 9 weeks to go and some serious pain. I'm wearing a maternity support belt, drinking lots of water, taking tylenol, trying to rest when possible, warm baths... and yet when the pain hits... nothing seems to relieve it for several hours... it's ROUGH! I'm just going to have to take it one day at a time. I would MUCH rather this boy stay inside and grow and develop as long as possible, even if I have to find some way to deal with this for the next two months. So really, it was an answer to my prayer this morning. As much as I would love some relief for my own sake, I really don't want him to come early for his sake... and it is reassuring to know that some of the things I thought might be happening that would bring him early, aren't.

So that's my really long update. Now I just have to figure out how to "take it easy" when I have so much I need to do!