Weekly Update - One More To Go

39 Weeks

I had my weekly OB appointment yesterday morning. No progress has been made since last week in terms of dilation or effacement, but the good news is that I haven't gained any weight in the past week! At this stage in pregnancy, it’s the little things that make a woman happy. My doctor said I’m not “inducible” yet, but she said that if I don’t have the baby by April 19th (the due date), she will schedule an induction the week of April 22nd. Yay! It’s exciting to know for sure that I’ll be holding my baby boy sometime in the next 15 days. Little V’s heart rate was in the 140s, and he was moving all around during the exam.

Unfortunately, my blood pressure was on the high side again, so Dr. H sent me over to L&D to be monitored and have a fetal non-stress test done. This wasn't my first rodeo, having been through the same thing a few weeks ago. I was there for about two hours while they monitored my BP, the baby’s heart rate/movement, etc. I had several high blood pressure readings until the nurses had me lie down on my left side and then all the readings were normal. Doctor's advice is to "take it easy and lay down whenever possible" - a difficult thing to do when you're still working full time. Baby V was super active and his heart rate looked great. I had several contractions over the course of those two hours, although they aren't regular and are spaced out anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes apart. These contractions are still considered to be Braxton Hicks, although they are noticeably stronger than they were weeks ago and they now have definite peaks to them vs. just being an all over tightening sensation. The nursing staff checked my platelet levels again and I'm holding steady at 97,000. We're hoping and praying that my levels stay the same so that I can have an epidural as planned.

I was talking to mom this morning about how it feels to be 39 weeks pregnant. During the past few weeks I've been feeling that labor was imminent, but now, I've almost resigned to the fact that I'm going to be pregnant forever. Haha! In all seriousness, it feels like the end is NEVER going to come. Of course I know it will, but the waiting game ain't fun, folks.

T-minus TEN Days

38 Weeks, 4 Days

Only ten more days until my due date! It's getting so close I can taste it! I'm starting to get nervous about labor. Every little twinge of discomfort I feel, I automatically think to myself, "Could this be IT?" I had Braxton Hicks contractions all day yesterday. There wasn't a pattern, but they occurred anywhere between 5-30 minutes apart for the entire span of the work day. Then I woke up twice in the middle of the night with two VERY painful contractions that must be closer to what real labor feels like. So far, my BH contractions are just an uncomfortable tightening sensation across my entire abdomen. But the painful contractions I had last night were much sharper and more intense. Almost as if I had some bad Chinese food. Anyway, all is well this morning. I told myself last night if I had more than three of those painful contractions, it must be real labor, but they subsided and I dozed off.

Vicente is in D.C. today and tomorrow attending a conference which makes me anxious. With each passing day, I feel that labor could start at any moment. If I start to notice any pattern or regularity in my contractions, or if my water breaks, I'll give V a call ASAP and he can be in Baltimore in about an hour depending on the time of day he leaves. But even once he gets into city limits, he'll have a good 30 minute drive up to the hospital. So...its not ideal, but hopefully I won't go into labor in the next day or two.

It's supposed to get into the high 80s today, and I faced quite the dilemma dressing myself for work this morning. The last time I wore warm weather clothes, I was 40 pounds lighter. What's a nearly 39-week pregnant woman to do? Answer: dress yourself in pre-pregnancy clothes and hope for the best! I'm literally popping out of this outfit. I feel utterly ridiculous. Pun intended.

Parents Weekend

38 Weeks, 3 Days

Vicente and I are coming off of a wonderful weekend with our parents! Vicente and his dad had a conference in D.C. to attend on Saturday and Sunday, and V's mom came up with his dad on Thursday to stay with us and spend a little quality time before the baby comes. As it turns out, my mom and Van had also scheduled a trip to visit us this past weekend, so we had the pleasure of hosting both sets of parents in Baltimore the very same weekend! We truly had a wonderful time and I know it's something we'll always remember.

We were secretly hoping that Baby V would come early while everyone was in town. How convenient would that have been? Unfortunately, he decided he needs a little more time in the oven, so we'll just have to wait 11 more days...or maybe less?

I was able to knock out the last of my pregnancy to-dos this weekend, which included getting a haircut, having my car emissions tested, and buying video camera equipment (courtesy of our incredibly generous parents.) I'm so happy that we now have a camcorder to capture all those priceless early moments in our son's life. I love watching home movies from my own childhood and I can't wait to give this gift to our children as well. All the camera gear is charged up and ready to go whenever we finally make our way to the hospital to greet our baby boy.

I didn't take many pics from this weekend, despite the new camera equipment (and the new iPhone I was forced to buy last Thursday because I dropped and shattered my old one.) Here are a few pics I snapped in Fell's Point on Sunday before taking mom and Van to the airport. We were walking all over the neighborhood in an effort to jump start labor. It might not have worked, but at least we were able to enjoy the beautiful Spring weather!

38 Weeks,  2 Days

Me and Mese

Comparing belly bumps with Poppy!

A Wee Bit of Progress

37 Weeks, 6 Days

I just returned from my weekly OB appointment. I've gained four pounds in one week, but it's mostly due to swelling. My doctor even said I looked swollen, and boy do I feel it! I've been suffering from some brutal carpal tunnel syndrome this past week. I wake up multiple times in the night with numb, tingly hands. In the mornings, my wrists are incredibly sore. I know it's due to the swelling in my extremities, but it just sucks. Thankfully I only have to put up with it for a couple more weeks!

My blood pressure was normal (128/84) and the fetal heart rate was in the 140s. Dr. H did an internal exam and discovered that I'm 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced! Yay! She cracked me up when she said, "I can actually put my finger in your cervix. You've made progress!" I never thought I'd be so happy to hear someone say those words. It doesn't really mean much in terms of predicting when I'll go into labor, it just means that my body is finally making physical changes in preparation for childbirth. I could go into labor as early as tomorrow, or it might be after my due date. It's anyone's guess! Van really thinks its going to be this weekend while he and mom are in town with Vicente's parents. Wouldn't that be great timing to go into labor when the whole family is here?

Dr. H ordered more blood work to check my platelet count again. She's going to call me this afternoon with results.* Let's hope and pray that they stayed the same, or even went up, since last visit. I started at 94,000, and then a week later, I was at 109,000. Dr. H said if my platelet levels drop below 70,000, there are very few anesthesiologists who would feel comfortable putting an epidural in me. She said there are some that won't give epidurals if your platelets drop below 90,000, which for me, is cutting it close. I'm really terrified about not having the option to get an epidural. It's been my birth plan all along to have an epidural, so finding out it might not be an option for me this late in the game is scary. If I had known from the beginning this was a possibility, I probably would have taken some natural childbirth classes in preparation!

Oh well. It's out of my control. All I can do is pray that my platelet count comes back normal today.

*Just talked to Dr. H and my platelets are down a little bit at 96,000. She says they're "stable" meaning the change in the last three weeks hasn't been that drastic. Let's hope they don't fall any further than they are!

Surprise!

37 Weeks, 5 Days 

Today at work, while returning from my 20th trip to the bathroom, I noticed everyone in my office congregating in the conference room. They threw me a surprise baby shower! It made my day. I'm going to miss my awesome coworkers at Planit while I'm on maternity leave. It feels kind of weird to be checking out for three months, but I'll be back in July! Luckily, everyone at work has been so awesome and supportive during this pregnancy. I just hope it's not weird when I come back.

Check out some pics from earlier today!