Prenatal Appointment: 39wks 5 days and baby update

I had my 39-40wk appointment on Thursday, April 14th. I had originally hoped and planned to not be present at this appointment as my baby was supposed to come the 12th. This, of course, did not happen. At my appointment I mentioned to the doctor that I was having surges about 5 minutes apart. She then asked if I wanted my membranes stripped (I declined again), and checked me. I was at a 4+ and my surges were actually starting to come less than 5 minutes apart! I was in labor but not in what they call active labor. They don't consider you in active labor until 4.5cm dilation. I was certainly close though. Doc said to go home and walk. She said that if I wasn't having a natural birth we'd go downstairs, they'd break my water, and we would have had the baby that day, but because I am going natural, it was best for me to go home. If I had gone and checked in and my labor stopped (it did), they would want to induce and that is not something I am interested in. We ran some errands and walked and walked and walked. For 3 days I walked and now I am 40wks 1 day pregnant. I think now I just need to rest. Jared agrees. Maybe my body is waiting until I am rested to go into labor. Here is a current belly picture:

40wks 1 day

I am officially uncomfortable and so ready for this baby to be born. I am discouraged and impatient. It feels almost as if it will never happen! My feet are also HUGE! Like fat sausages. This makes walking very uncomfortable.

My mom and SISTER came on the 7th to be here when baby comes. It was such a nice surprise to see Danielle! Unfortunately, baby didn't come while she was here. She had to leave Tuesday the 12th due to school. My mom has now been here 10 days. It has been so nice having her here. I just hope this baby comes while she is.

So baby update is....there really isn't one. I am going to call the doc tomorrow and see if I can get in for an earlier appointment than this friday. I think I am going to consent to have my membranes stripped so that I can avoid induction, which will likely be discussed at my next appointment. Hopefully it won't come to either of those.

Prenatal Appointment: 38wks 3 days

I had my 38-39 wk appointment yesterday, April 5th. I went in with such expectations that there would be some HUGE change due to the hard surges I've been having during the night, and especially the one that woke me on Sunday night. I have progressed to a 2+. So not much change. It was very difficult to not get depressed about this. It helped to talk to the doctor and ask questions. She said that how effaced you are and how dilated you are prior to labor does not necessarily mean anything. She said she has women that are 7cm dilated (during labor of course) but are still just 50% effaced. This was quite a relief. Because this is only my second child we really have nothing to base my progression on in order to give an estimate of when baby is going to arrive. Your first pregnancy is really so different than subsequent pregnancies and cannot be used as a guideline, besides, I was induced. It's interesting to think that if this were my pregnancy with Ella, I'd be having this baby in 2 days! Crazy! Anyway, doc said that my future pregnancies can be estimated when the baby might come based on what happens in this pregnancy. So once again, baby will be here before the 30th! Doc doesn't think I will make it to my due date, the 16th. So we just keep waiting.

There is a restaurant in Georgia that has had 300+ women come in and eat their Eggplant Parmigiana and have gone into labor and delivered within 48hrs. They actually have a guarantee that if you don't have your baby in 48hrs after consumption, they will give you a free meal! They have given their recipe online and Jared and I went and bought the supplies after my appointment. We are going to try this dish tomorrow night, Thursday, April 7th. If it works we should have a baby by Saturday, April 9th. I think it would be neat for baby to be born on the 9th of April as Ella was born on the 9th of June. They'd be exactly 2 yrs and 10 months apart. :) Here is a current belly pic. It was taken just 3 days after the last so don't expect a huge change :)

38wks 3 days

So just know, we will keep all updated concerning when the baby actually arrives. My mom is coming tomorrow, which will be a huge relief to me, so let's hope this baby comes within the next week!

Prenatal Appointment: 37wks 5 days

I had my 38wk prenatal appointment on Thursday, March 31st. I have felt a decrease in movement from the baby (last night doesn't count! Baby was having massive movements that seemed almost unnatural and were starting to scare me a bit. Just think of what it might look like to see whole appendages going haywire inside your skin. Where you can say, "there goes the leg" or "there goes an arm". CRAZY!) and so I have been a bit worried. I did my kick counts, however, and baby was fine. Just had to realize that baby is getting bigger and running out of room.

I took Jared to work and was able to just go over to the appointment and try and get in early. This was so nice (I originally had scheduled all of my appointments for when Jared can be there, but doc wasn't going to be in this day and needed me to reschedule).

I am still dilated to a 2, however, last week it was a tight 2 and this appointment was a solid 2. So not much progress. I am 40-50% effaced. Baby had a good, strong heartbeat. Doc explained to me that it is possible that the baby had a growth spurt which could be why he/she has had a decrease in movement. She also told me that the reason that my left foot swells so much and my right hardly does at all is possibly due to the fact that I sprained my left ankle when I was a kid. I found this very interesting :) My doctor explained that although I didn't have much change from my last appointment, all that needs to happen is for be to have surges like I had the night of the 15th and I will be in labor! Yay!  My doctor also offered to strip my membranes which I promptly declined. I am not planning on using any artificial inducers this time and although I am anxious for baby to get here, and did consider for 1 second allowing her to, I am going to stick to my guns and have this baby completely naturally.

After the appointment, Ella and I walked over to visit Daddy at work and then proceeded to walk to the library! All in all this day I walked about a mile. Since then I have cleaned the house again including dusting the blinds and vacuuming out the dryer! I am so ready! Here is a current belly pic:

38wks

Oh yeah, baby has dropped! Isn't it soooo obvious? It looks so strange when looking at my bare belly! My next appointment is on Tuesday. Maybe I won't make it to that! If I continue to have surges like I did last night, baby will be here anytime!

Just a cute pic of Ella dangling over my belly! She is ready for baby to come out so that she can snuggle with me again :)