Friday

membranes

Went to the doctor this morning. She said I'm dilated "about 3 cm" and that my cervix feels much better this week. I'm translating that to mean "more likely to open all the way and get this dang baby out."

While she was in there, she stripped my membranes. This was a non-enjoyable experience and a little painful. From what I can read online, that basically means she ran her finger around the opening to try to get it to separate. Sometimes it helps progress labor, sometimes not.

Because the baby is so big, she said if I do go into labor and it doesn't progress quickly, we aren't going to try anything crazy like a big push of pitocin or labor for 12 hours.

She also told me to wait until Monday to go in to labor because she's not on call this weekend.

Thursday

38 weeks

Yes. I am in the bathroom at work.
I weighed in at 242 this week. I'm having more and more contractions every day but they are still inconsistent and not painful.

Tuesday

Letters on the wall

At my "friends" shower, everyone was asked to bring a letter to help decorate the nursery. Most of these came from shower guests, whether they made it to the actual shower, or sent the letter before or after. The hubs and I did decorate a few ourselves because we were missing just a couple. We also painted a few because they came plain and we wanted to jazz it up a bit.

I've had them on the dining room table for a few weeks now, debating the best layout. Then I moved them to the floor and taped out the exact area of the wall space I had to work with. To hang them, I started with the E at the top, and worked my way over and down on both sides, then filled in the middle - eyeballing as I went. I'm still waiting for that letter Y (I painted it at the correct size because we just haven't seen that friend to get it yet), but you get the idea.

Here are some shots of the nursery ready and waiting.




Gross.

I was talking to a labor and delivery nurse about how to get ready for labor and she told me to try to eat something before I come to the hospital. Most likely, I will not be able to eat once I get here. Then, she says "but don't eat White Castle, okay? Because we'll know that you did."

Friday

Current stats

My weight: 241
Gestation: 37 2/7
Baby's weight: 8lb 5oz
Average # of hours of sleep at a time: 1.5
Dilated: 2 cm

Wednesday

37 weeks - and now we wait.

My little monster is officially full term. I've been ready for about two weeks now to "no longer be pregnant." I have BBH (BIG Braxton Hicks) contractions all the time now, and they are really starting to be uncomfortable (not painful though). But, I guess it's not really my call. I have an ultrasound scheduled in two days, and hopefully after that I'll know how big he is and if I'll be induced.

I'd really rather not be induced. As much as I don't want to be pregnant, I'd rather wait until my body does it's natural thing and get this baby out on its own. I've heard so many horror stories of long, painful births for moms who are induced. However, if I have a medically necessary c-section, then I'm all for it.

To try to urge him out, I've been walking, cleaning and organizing. I don't really feel the nesting instinct yet though. I've just been doing those things in hopes that he will want to come on out!

Sunday

Craft time!

At my friend shower, part of the plan was to have everyone decorate a onesie. Well, due to the high amount of people and the smallness of my house, combined with fact that we ran out of time, we didn't decorate any onesies. Katie had bought all the supplies already, so today she and her hubs came over for craft time (really, the boys watched football while we crafted). I snapped a shot of each one so you can see the detail.



We basically used fabric with iron-on backing or fabric markers to make our own creations. I'm terrible at sewing, so I might ask my mom to fix those buttons on the supposed-suspenders. 


 






Thursday

35 weeks

This morning I weighed 240lbs. I'm so ready to have this baby. I read in one of my books that sometimes when the baby drops, it's worse for mom and sometimes it's better. For me, it's much worse. I am going to the bathroom non-stop. My hips hurt so I can't sleep. The pressure on my pelvis is painful whenever I stand up. The doctor did say that his head is fitting nicely into my pelvis right now, so I'm guessing that means he's coming out the va-jay-jay for now. I'm keeping my mind open on c-section or regular birth so I'm not upset either way.

The baby app on my phone says my son (now called MoMo the Monster for his kicking habits) should be gaining one ounce of weight per day. If that's true, he now weighs 7lb 7oz. Our bag is packed and ready for the hospital. Now, we wait.

 

Sunday

Seven pounds?

Merry New Year!! (The pic is of the hubs and me NYE at dinner. Not the best belly shot, but a cute photo of us.)

After a week off work, I'm ready to go back. Last week was amazingly awesome to get everything ready for the baby's arrival (I even have most of my bag packed!) and spending time at home with the hubs. However, at my ultrasound on Friday, I learned that my son already weighs (an estimated) 7lbs. I still have six weeks to go!!  That is crazy!

They also told me that he is "engaged" or head-down and in the "ready to go" position. I'm definitely experiencing more intense and often braxton hicks contractions, and some minor pains below my uterus, but I'm not sure if any of those things means anything yet. I go back to the OB Tuesday, so I'll find out more then, hopefully!

(The poor dog has been staying up with us all day instead of sleeping his normal 8 hours while we are at work. By NYE, he was ready for some serious slumber!)