Week 38

Yesterday marked the beginning of Week 38! It's hard to believe that we are so far along and so close to the big day! We had a sonogram and then a Dr's appointment afterward. The sonogram was a bit disappointing to me because since he's so much bigger now that he's nearly full grown than he was at 20 weeks, his whole body did not fit on the screen and it was very difficult for us to be able to tell what we were looking at. His face was pointed toward my back, so we never really got a clear shot of his cute little face. There was a picture that she was able to get of his face and was showing us the nose, eyes and mouth, but neither of us can make out a face in that picture to save our lives! She also printed out pictures of an arm/hand and his little boy parts. Strangely, the boy parts were pretty much the only things that were obvious in the picture! I had assumed I'd have all of these cutsey sonogram pictures to post of his profile and face like last time, but since the only thing that was clear were the boy parts, I don't think I'll be posting those. All in all, it was great to see our little guy on the screen, even though we couldn't make out what we were looking at most of the time. It was really neat to see his heart pumping. It was so neat because you could see the chambers and everything! At one point when she was focusing on his head, trying to make him face the camera, she said 'let's check out his hair and see what that's like'. Turns out he has none! Depending on when he's born, maybe he'll grow some before his big day.

At the appointment after the sonogram, she checked me like usual and determined that there was almost zero change since the last visit. There was a tiny bit more dilation, but nothing significant. I just don't get it! I don't understand why everything was in fast forward just a few weeks ago and now we are just sitting on our hands. Don't get me wrong - I know that the longer he stays in and the closer to 40 weeks we get the better for his development. It's just such a rollercoaster to go from thinking we're having a baby any minute to just sitting around twiddling our thumbs! We're a little more relaxed about it now that he's not going to be terribly early, but now that we're so close to the due date, we can't help but still be somewhat nervous. She said that at 39 weeks she'd be medically allowed to induce or do a c-section, but we have decided against that if my body isn't ready for delivery yet. We are just not comfortable with 'playing God' for the sake of getting him here a week or two sooner. The Dr agrees that this is a good way to go and not force anything. So, we are just going to let things progress naturally and see where God takes us. According to the sonogram measurements, he is 7.7 pounds, plus or minus a pound. This give the Dr and us some hope that we will be able to avoid a c-section. I'm not totally against c-sections - in fact, in the beginning I was so scared of the alternative that I asked if I could have a scheduled c-section! However, now that I've had several months to learn more about each type of delivery and let it all sink in, I'd like to skip a c-section if at all possible. Either way, our baby is going to be born one way or another, regardless of the method of delivery, and that's all that matters! We discussed timelines and she is not going to let me go past 41 weeks. If we reach that point and are still pregnant, she is going to either have to induce or do a c-section, whichever is the best choice at the time.

Bed Rest...Week 4

Today marks the beginning of the 4th week of bedrest. I can hardly believe that it has been 4 weeks already! It is kind of strange to be home and not going 100 miles an hour each day with work, house work, etc. It's been nice to slow down, but also hard at times. There are days when I want to do so many things around the house, but can't.

The highlight of this week is that at my appointment on Friday I'll be 38 weeks and will get a sonogram! I'm so excited to get the sonogram and to see what's going on in there and to see what our little man looks like now. It feels like he's absolutely huge, but we'll see what size he actually is when they do the measurements. According to my 20 week sonogram measurements, he supposedly will be 10.5 - 11 pounds if I make it to full term, which is in a little more than 2 weeks. Given all of the ups and downs of this pregnancy, who knows what to expect anymore! At one time she thought I'd never make it past 36 weeks, but here we are. At one time things were in 'fast forward' mode and I was going to deliver any day, and that was weeks ago. How I wish this pregnancy business were more of an exact science!

37 Weeks

Today I am 37 weeks. It's hard to believe that we're this far already! It went from feeling like time just dragged on and on to feeling like it has just flown by. Just a few weeks ago I was effacing early, getting steriod shots to develop Waylon's lungs, and going on modified bedrest because he was probably going to be here by an estimated 35-36 weeks. At my appointment yesterday, the Doctor said that while I am 60% effaced and dilated to about a half a centimeter, nothing has changed since last week's visit. She said it's highly likely now that I'll make it to full term! What a change and what a surprise!! I'm so glad that he won't be a preemie and that we have made it this far. She is really surprised because since I have a small frame she didn't think that I'd be able to make it this far. For the past several weeks we've both been walking on eggshells, thinking that I'd have a baby any minute and that every little cramp or pain meant I was going into labor. We've even called the Doctor on call a few times over the past few weeks because we were so on edge. Nick pointed out that I often reference the fact I am still pregnant as if I'm mad or upset about it. I hadn't realized it until he said something, but he's right - I was doing that alot. It wasn't so much that I felt angry, but I was just so on edge that I was just ready for this baby to be here so we could stop being stressed out about it. Since he pointed that out and the Doctor says that I'll probably go to full term, I've been much more relaxed about the entire situation. Now I am concentrating on relaxing, reading - both about baby related things and for pleasure, getting as much rest as I can and keeping up with friends and family. All of these things will probably go right out the window as soon as a newborn is introduced into the picture!



On a different topic, I had yet another rude encounter with someone regarding my pregnancy this week. My mother in law and I were at the grocery store checkout when the checkout lady thought that it was a perfectly acceptable thing to ask me how much weight I've gained. I'm so sick of people thinking that completely rude questions and comments are Ok to say to pregnant people. For those of you who know me well, you know that I tend to harp on this subject quite alot. I swear I could write volumes on this topic because it seems to be everywhere! Here I was standing in line, 9 months pregnant, and this lady feels the need to ask how much weight I've gained. On top of that, there were at least 10 people in line behind me and she was not quiet about her question in the least. Rather than be completely rude, I sort of laughed and said that I didn't want to tell her that piece of information. I don't think she believed me at first, and then when she realized I really wasn't going to tell her, she seemed surprised and then started backtracking by saying how much she had gained in her two pregnancies. Maybe it's a coincidence, but the majority of the invasive commments/questions that I get seem to be from significantly older women for some reason. I wonder if the age gap makes them feel as if they've been there and done that and are entitled to asking whatever they want to. It probably doesn't help my case any that I'm 30 years old and often get mistaken for somewhere around 18-20 years old and am now too swollen to wear my wedding rings. These people asking me probably just dismiss me as an unwed teenage mother with no brain and just ask away and are probably surprised that I won't answer their questions!

Enjoying Sunday

Since going on bedrest I practically live on this couch - reading, doing things on the laptop, watching tv, talking on the phone, etc. Every time I get up the dog sneaks over and claims my spot! We go through this all day long!! If she's not stealing my spot, she's cuddling up on the other end of the Snoogle. She's really loving the fact that someone is home with her 24 hours a day...she's going to need some serious therapy when I go back to work and she's back to being alone all day!

We hade a nice lunch 'date' at Chili's earlier. You just never know when things like that will be the last one before the baby gets here. I haven't been out of the house in 6 days...weird! It feels good to get out periodically for little spurts of time, but I'm so tired out by the end that it's nice to get back home and get comfy again. Plus, people just stare so much, so that's kind of weird. I'm going to enjoy the rest of the day relaxing, reading, and spending time with the hubby.

36 Weeks

So here we are at 36 weeks and still no baby! I know she said that there was a possibility that he would not come early, but I kind of thought we'd have a baby by now or at least be further along. Then again, at my next appointment she may say that I've dilated alot more or something. Who knows. I've had alot of soreness lately...maybe that means I'm dilated more, and maybe not. I certainly have no comparison. I do know that my body feels way different lately, but maybe it's just par for the course. I'm really excited for the baby to be here and honestly the waiting game is really tiring!!

My next appointment is Wednesday afternoon...we'll see what kind of news she has for us!

The Joys of Modified Bedrest

This probably sounds silly to everyone out there, perhaps unless you have been on bedrest yourself: this is pretty boring. Sure, it's wonderful not to have to get dressed and go anywhere when I feel so icky, but at the same time, there is only so much reading, tv watching and internet surfing I can do in a day before it feels like my eyeballs are going to fall out of my head. I really shouldn't complain, though, because before I know it, we'll have a baby here and we will not be getting any rest whatsoever! It's a real challenge to look around the house and think up things I'd like to be doing, only I can't because of my physical limitations. I've made up a list of things that I can do to keep my busy...we'll see how long it takes to get them done and for me to be back to square one again!

As much as I didn't want to do it, I've succumbed to sleeping on the couch as of last night. It's just so difficult to sleep in the bed right now and all my tossing and turning wakes Nick up all night. The side that it's most comfortable for me to sleep on makes it very hard to get into a comfortable position in the bed, but is much easier to manuever on the couch. Plus, I get extra support from the back of the couch combined with my snoogle pregnancy pillow, so I tend to sleep better and for longer stretches throughout the night. I get up alot to go to the bathroom at night and since the couch is lower to the ground than the bed, it's much easier to get on and off of it. It's very weird to me being in the same house as my husband and not sleeping in the same bed, but it appears that it's best for everyone involved. I'm sure I'm making a much bigger deal of it than it really should be, but I'm really sentimental about things right now! As far as Nick is concerned, he just wants what is going to be most comfortable for me.

Last night was a very uncomfortable night. I woke up millions of times with soreness and achiness in places I have never felt pain in before! I am still having contractions around the clock, but they are not paired with pain, so we're still just waiting for that to happen. Yesterday was a really nice day because my brother Caleb brought me a delicious lunch and stayed here visiting all afternoon. It was a great time and I loved getting to sit and visit with him, plus it made the day go by very quickly.

Dilated!

We had a Dr.'s appointment this afternoon and I'm dilated! Well, it's not quite that exciting...I'm only dilated to less than 1 cm. At least we're headed in the right direction, though. She said she's surprised that I'm not further along than that and that it looks like I may go full term after all if this pace keeps up. My cervix has thinned some more, too, in addition to the dilation. She said if I go much farther that I will end up needing a c-section because he will likely be too big for me. I had hoped to avoid a c-section, but at this point I just want him to be here so I'll take what I can get!!

35 Weeks

Happy New Year! 2010 is going to be an exciting year, that's for sure! New Year's week was fun. Nick was off the whole week and the Colvins came to visit for a few days. We got to spend alot of time with them just visiting since I'm not supposed to be out and about. Since Sophie was coming to stay for a few days, Nick decided to go ahead and baby proof the house with cabinet/drawer locks, door knob protectors, and outlet plugs.

My Dr. has been telling me for a while now that if I have more than 4 contractions in an hour that I need to call, even though they appear to still be Braxton Hicks so far. Wouldn't you know that happened while Annie and I were here at home on New Year's Eve?! I called and the Dr. on call told me not to call back until they are 3-4 minutes apart. We had a little scare for a minute because we didn't know if I was going into labor! We calmed down after talking to the Dr., although I was a bit discouraged that he told me something different than my Dr.

The next night, the same thing happened again. I have been having contractions at all times of the day and night, but they really picked up around the same time as the night before. I had one 4 minutes from the previous one, so I called. I spoke to a different Dr. this time and she had yet another story. She said not to call or even begin to time the contractions until they hurt. After that, I don't need to call until they are the same amount of minutes apart and last for at least 1 minute. Oy. The adrenalin was really pumping because prior to calling we didn't know if I'd be going to the hospital or what.

I have another appointment today so we'll see what my Dr. says about all this and if I'm continuing to progress. My body feels really differently in many different ways, so maybe I am progressing or even dilating some. We'll see.

Nick put together the Pack N Play, bouncer and monitor yesterday, so I guess all of the nursery things are really ready now! We are ready for our baby to be here and to stop playing the guessing game!!