Come on already!

Yesterday, I had my OB appt. This one was a little different. They hooked me up to the fetal monitor, so that they could monitor the baby's heartbeat and see if I am having any contractions. I don't know if it's the position that I was lying in, or the fact that the belts were strapped onto me, but the baby seemed to get really active (you could see my stomach moving around, and I swear the monitor caught some air one time with a big movement). Maybe she's destined to be a diva on screen (or monitor, in this case). But I thought it was interesting that during my appt, I had 3 contractions that I didn't even feel. One time, the doc was talking to me, and she said "you just had one, but I didn't say anything because I wanted to see how you reacted to it". My reaction - nada, zip, nothing, total amazement that I just had one. When I asked her if it was a braxton-hicks contraction, she said "No, that was a pretty good one". So, she said I was having irregular contractions. I guess that's a good sign, and hopefully that means that Baby Z is going to make an appearance soon! Last night, I did feel more of these contractions (I also ate lots of pineapple and we went on another walk), and I went to bed hoping that they would turn into something. Maybe it's mental, but these did seem stronger than the little ones that I had been feeling so far.

I also was able to talk the doc into moving the induction date. Originally, I was scheduled to go in on a Thursday night (2 days shy of 42 weeks). I really want to give Baby Z the whole 42 weeks to come on her own, so we agreed to move the induction to Sunday night (42 weeks and 1 day). The waiting game continues.

Waiting and Waiting

Ok - I am now 40 weeks and 4 days, and I have my next OB check-up this afternoon. After last week's appt, I was really hoping that I would not make it to this one - but here we are a week later and still no Baby Z. Oh well, Scott says she's already taking after me, fashionably late (but really you all, I am usually only 10 minutes late, at the max!)

Lately, we've picked up the amount of walking that we do, I've been walking up and down the stairs during the days, we've been eating spicy food (the Thai food on Friday night has us both sweating up a storm in the restaurant), eating pineapple, Scott tried to find the acupressure points, and I've been making sure to drink my red raspberry leaf tea everyday. Of course - there's the other activity that got us into this mess, so we'll see if these things really work or if it's just a bunch of old wives tales. And I thought the whole sitting on the ball was also garbage, but for the past week or so there has been no more comfortable place to sit other than on my ball. So we've been carrying it up and down the stairs from my desk at work to next to the couch at night. I didn't really think Scott would have to walk into the hospital carrying the ball, but now I think he's going to have to suck it up and carry it proudly.

The past 2 nights I could not sleep, and I thought I felt some very minor pressure waves (aka contractions, probably braxton-hicks). I was thinking maybe this is it and it will turn into labor! But no - I fell asleep eventually and they must have petered out. It's such a disappointment to wake up in the morning and realize that nothing happened that night. I have told Baby Z that she should really come today (or at least in the next day or 2) because she should have her own month for her birthday. We have a lot of family birthdays in August (3 people and Chewie) - she should just go ahead and come on out in July.

This morning, I find myself a little emotional - damn hormones -but maybe it's a good sign! There is a pregnancy blog (His Boys Can Swim) that I just recently came across, and I really wish I had found this earlier, because the couple's due date was only 2 days before mine - so we were going through many of the same things at the same time. Anyway, they had their baby. and their latest post has left me all teary and wanting to write to you all. Let's hope Baby Z joins us soon!

40 weeks... anytime now

So today is my due date. I knew that it's just a guess date and that most babies don't come on their due dates. But I am still kind of hopeful. And I am ready.

Scott kept asking me when I was going to update my blog and write about the baby shower. So much time has passed now - it seems a little anti-climatic. So in a nutshell, Scott's parents came to visit and we had a great time seeing them. Then, Tricia and Kara came to visit - so we had a very full house for about 3-4 days. My parents threw us a really nice shower, and it was so great seeing everyone and Baby Z got lots of great things. We are as ready as we will ever be for our new addition to the family now (bedding and onesies are washed and ready, car seat in the car, etc). I've even got my bag for the hospital mostly packed, so it's just a waiting game now.

I did have a birthday - nice and low key. Then Kara came back to SD for a work trip, and we hung out over the weekend (Scott had a guys outing that weekend, too) and saw the new Harry Potter (I think the last movie was better, but this was still entertaining).

So, these last few weeks have been a little rougher than the rest - but still a very smooth and uncomplicated pregnancy. This is night 2 of little to no sleep - and the last few weeks have been waking up every 2-3 hours to pee. I'm having some pelvic pain (I think it's my pelvis and ligaments stretching for the big day), which makes it hard to walk/waddle and it hurts every time I stand up or try to roll over in bed (which may be why I can't sleep now). And lately it's been really hot here in SD, resulting in very swollen feet. My doc also said that I'm running hotter than most people because I'm pregnant, so I probably am affected by the heat more than most.

At my last appt, we had the post-due talk. She said that medically, they don't want pregnancies to run over 42 weeks. So we scheduled an induction date if Baby Z doesn't make an appearance by Aug 6th (2 days shy of 42 weeks). I am going to talk to her more about moving that out a few days, or what other options we have if there is still no Baby Z by my next appt. I really don't want to be induced if everything is normal and there are no risks or complications. We are picking up the amount of walking that we do, and last night had some spicy Thai food for dinner. It's time to try all the old midwives tricks in the next 10 days or so. Come on down, Baby Z!