39 Weeks - Still Waiting, Still Swelling

39 weeks.  A mere 7 days from my due date.  It's a serious 'how did we get there from here' moment!

Baby girl is so low right now I feel like she could just fall on out without a problem.  My EVERYTHING is swelling now.  Hands, wrists, knees, legs, ankles, feet - and hopefully my face though who knows if that's fat or fluid.  lol.

At last Thursday's appointment I had gained 7lbs since the previous week!!  Considering the amount of swelling I have, it's probably mostly fluid weight but good lord was that an eye-popping experience!!  No protein in my urine and my blood pressure was still good though.  When my midwife had me lay back to listen to the heartbeat and measure me I put my legs up and she noticed my ankles right away and wound up taking my blood pressure a second time for her own sake before letting me leave wanting to make sure that it was really okay considering the weight gain and how swollen I was.  But so far so good - apart from the annoyance it causes me that is.  Next appointment is tomorrow and hopefully I haven't gained much more - fluid or no!

I have been having some off-and-on contractions but nothing overly notable.  It's so hard to tell - I get contractions all the time of the Braxton-Hicks variety, and sometimes even those come regularly.  Everyone says you'll be able to tell the difference though, so I'm banking on them knowing what they're talking about.  I've had some today that I'd call 'more noticeable' than some of the others that were just a tightening feeling.. but nothing consistent and as someone told me -  our babies have a sense of humor even from the womb - so I'm sure it's a big ol' game of 'let's get mommy excited and have it amount to nothing'!  lol.

Oh and I did meet with the anesthesiologist before my last midwife appointment.  It was just a quick talking meeting where I told him what I'd been given before and what my reactions were and what my concerns were in the 'in case shit' scenario of birth though I truly hoped to never see him again.  He was totally cool with that and basically told me not to worry if for no other reason than they don't use those sorts of sedating/memory-taking medications (i.e. sodium pen and versed) typically in birth settings because you WANT to remember.  The only time they use sodium pen is if a c-section is a true emergency and they're putting you under general anesthesia.  Basically you only deal with them for an epidural in labor - which I'm planning not to have - or in the case of a c-section.  And in a normal c-section he said that they use a spinal anesthesia that is just numbing and that's about it.  He kept saying that they might give you something for after if you're having a hard time relaxing and I kept waiting for him to get to what they give you, ya know, WHILE they're cutting you open, but no - the spinal is the end of that basically.  So essentially he was like 'don't worry we don't use those things cuz you'll be awake!' and I'm like "stellar!!"  lol.  He did go on to say that they stay with you throughout everything and are able to take you to the next level of whatever it is you need to make you comfortable while protecting your airway and keeping you and the baby safe which was good to hear.  And he said that in my previous situations it wasn't so much that I couldn't be given any more meds, it was that I couldn't be given any additional meds safely in the setting I was in without an anesthesiologist there to monitor and protect the airway and take things to the next level.

But regardless of all that, I hope hope hope I never have to see them again because if I do it means that everything we've planned and hoped for has gone to hell and that's not something I'm looking forward to or want to focus on.  So tomorrow I'll have my 39 week appointment and see where we go from there.  So far my midwife has been very awesome of not pushing internal exams (I don't want one unless I go passed my due date and we have to start the countdown of how late they'll let me go) and thusfar there's been no talk of having to set an induction date (I know some people get pushed into scheduling an induction at their 39 or 40 week appts 'just in case' which would irk me), so hopefully that will continue tomorrow.  Or hey - maybe I'll have a baby by the time of my appt tomorrow - who knows!  hahaha... 

Oh and if you're keeping track - belly button is still sort-of in, but I don't know that I can completely call it in at this point.  We're at least at the half and half point on this one.  eep!

38 Weeks: No More Rings :-(

I've never been a patient person, I'm not gonna lie.  It's definitely showing these days as well.  At 38 weeks we pretty much have everything ready, we're just waiting on her and waiting sucks!  haha.  That's not true - we're still waiting for our nursery letters which JUST finally got shipped on Monday so we should have those this week - remind me never to order from THAT GUY again - it took him like 6 weeks to get these done and in the mail!!!  They're not even custom painted!  Just white!!!  ugh.  Anyway, maybe that's what she's waiting for - she feels like her nursery is 'incomplete' without her little name letters over the crib!  lol..

But the latest and greatest as far as things go is that I had to take my rings off yesterday.  I'd been wearing them on my pinky finger since the end of March/beginning of April (and sadly they actually FIT my pinky right away so clearly I should have been doing that long before I actually did it!), but yesterday I woke up and realized that they were tight and THEN realized I couldn't get them off and had to run my hand under cold water to loosen them and slide them off.  I almost made it!  Close but no cigar.  :-(  But my hands have definitely joined the 'swelling party' in the last week.  Not cool if you ask me.  Especially because now they hurt - like grasping things and bending my fingers and wrists.  Basically movement of the skin the way my feet hurt from the swelling.  Next appointment is tomorrow so hopefully my stats will still be good.

I got the results of the GBS screen that was done at my last appointment - and it's negative!!  I'm sooo glad.  I know that being positive for the bacteria is, in actuality, no big deal really, but in today's world of modern medicine it guarantees a heplock and antibiotics in labor on the very very slight chance that the baby might have a problem because of it (1-2% is what we're talking about here).  And so my jubilation is less for the lack of the bacteria and more for the lack of IV that it means for my labor.

I also have an anesthesiologist consult scheduled just before my appt tomorrow.  They thought it would be a good idea considering my lack of response to conscious sedation meds in the past, just to be prepared for worst case scenario.  She also told me that it's one of those things where if I go it practically guarantees that I won't need to use it because that's generally how it works and I agree.  Life is crazy like that - if I don't go, I'll wind up needing the anesthesiologist, but if I go through the trouble of meeting with and talking over my options and making a plan, I won't need it.  And that's a plan I'm a fan of.  :-)  I expect to walk in there and be like "Hi - I hope to never see you again but..."  lol.

Beyond all that, I've been trying to do some walking - which typically I do in stores since we live on a giant hill and especially at this point I'd die trying to get back up it.  I've actually gone to target, not gotten a cart or basket with no intention of buying anything, and spent like 45 mins just browsing.  This is something I can do easily and Jeff's LEAST FAVORITE skill of mine.  hahaha..  He thinks it sounds torturous - I don't even notice.  Walking is definitely not comfortable for any real stretch of time (think like 3+ mins here!) but I know it's good for me and the potential of labor.  I've also started drinking Third Trimester Tea by Earth Mama Angel Baby - which is the closest thing I can find to red raspberry leaf tea locally.  It's listed as the first ingredient which works for me.  I do tire of mint teas quickly though and this one is no exception.  Spearmint is the second ingredient.  But I know that red raspberry leaf is supposed to help ripen the cervix and provide tone to the uterine muscles so drink it I shall.

Come on baby girl - we can't wait to meet you!!

37 Weeks: Full Term!!

Meet the "full term bellah"!  :-)  Our little girl is finished developing, just gaining wait at this point, and can come whenever she wishes now.  Hooray!  She's somehow gotten even lower recently - which didn't seem possible, but there you have it.  I had a midwife appointment on Tuesday the 4th and all was well, but she had to go waaaaaay down low to get the heartbeat!  Consequently, I still only measure 36 but she said that once they drop you often won't make it to 40 so they're not concerned about that at all which is good.  I also only gained 3lbs from my previous appt that was 2 weeks before.  At this point it's expected to gain a pound a week so after the 7lb jump the last time, I was definitely thrilled to be right where I should be.  And most importantly, my blood pressure and urine samples were all normal so there's no concern about my swelling at this point which is great.  I'd rather NOT be swelling like this but it's definitely good to know it's just inconveniencing me and not causing a true problem.

They also did my Group B Strep culture at the 37 week appointment - still waiting to see how that will come back, but they did tell me they send the culture with request for sensitivities since I'm allergic to penicillin and that usually what they wind up using is Clindamycin which is actually something I've used topically before as an acne medication.  Added bonus is that it's given every 8 hours instead of every 4 like the penicillins are.  And even if it is positive, I don't need to show up at the birth center until my water breaks - so fingers crossed I labor like my mother (in more ways than one) and my water doesn't break until pushing!  Though basically they told me that the pediatricians like to see a dose of antibiotic at least 4 hours before birth, so I'm feeling better about being able to still labor at home regardless of which way the culture comes back.  I'm not thrilled about the thought of possibly having to have a heplock IV line, but will deal with that if it turns out to be a reality.

We also had our "pre-birth meeting" with our doula last night where we were able to go over any updates in the pregnancy and our plan and desires for the birth.  It really made it hit home that it could happen any time now!  But it was good to see she was on the same page with us and to know that we'll have someone there for us that actually knows what's going on and will have at least a certain level of detachment that is not something that Jeff or I could ever get in the situation, and sometimes you need that. 

I actually had a weekend of tummy upset last weekend that got us both a little excited thinking that things might be gearing up, but so far not the case.  And as piece of TMI, I think I've started to slowly lose my mucous plug between weeks 36 and 37.  No idea if it's actually 'gone' yet or even if that was just it getting ready or something, but I've heard not everyone loses it all at once and that sometimes they lose it over time more liquifying than just popping out.  Shrug.  I also know that you can lose it multiple times and it can regenerate so it's not really the best 'labor sign' out there.

But we're ready, that's for sure.  I know I keep saying it's getting harder and harder to move around, but now it DEFINITELY is hard to move around and do things.  Just going out to the store can be tough - my back starts to really hurt, and my feet start to hurt because they don't fit well in my shoes anymore (even my flip flops!).  My heartburn/reflux is INSANE at this point, which would actually be interesting if it didn't suck so bad because she's so much lower than she was so my digestive bits have more room than they did - so why is it worse?!  It's a problem at night - I usually wind up taking some tums one of the times I get up to pee in the night and still have problems, so needless to say this is one of those things I'm hoping goes away fairly immediately.  I mean, goes away to the extent it was gone before I was pregnant - i.e. managed with meds.

Despite all my discomforts though, I know I'm going to miss feeling her wiggling around inside me, knowing that she's with me.  We both definitely can't wait to meet her though, to see what she'll look like and to learn about her little personality.  So we sit and play the waiting game.  :-)