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!