Full Moon

Just so we're all clear, I'm due to have a baby in ONE WEEK! 7 DAYS! Crazy times! There's a full moon tonight which is rumored to induce labor AND there's a low pressure front coming in tomorrow which apparently can cause water to break, so I'm hoping she gets moving tonight or tomorrow. My doctor is on call tomorrow, AND I have an OB appointment in the morning anyway, so that would be super convenient of her. :) I've been walking as much as I can and sit on my ball at work anyway, but now I'm bouncing on it whenever I think about it. I was so tired yesterday that I went to bed at 7:45 and don't even remember Chris coming home when he got off at 9. I read somewhere a while back that a lot of women sleep really well the day or two before they go into labor. Let's hope all of these things are signs. I'm still terrified of the actual labor process (who isn't afraid of being in immense pain??) but I'm also ready to have ankles again, to enjoy a day without back pain, and of course to hold my sweet little girl! I (unfortunately) feel really good right now, so who knows if things will move along anytime soon? Come on forces of nature! Work your magic! :)

38 week appointment and the countdown is on

Had the 38 week appointment on Friday. 1cm dilated and 90% effaced. Any progress is good progress in my book! I've had a lot more cramps and general discomfort since then, so I'd like to think things are moving right along. I've had so many people texting and calling asking if she's here yet. So, I set up a text list of people who will get the updates when we go to the hospital. Never fear, you will know the second we feel like anything official is happening! In related news, there are NINE DAYS left until our due date. That's right, single digits! Crazy! I've read that 1st-timers often go to 41+ weeks, but Dr. Handcock said he'd like to induce in the 40th week if we get that far. I don't know how I feel about all of that. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that she gets here before then. This Wednesday is the full moon, and they say that makes women go into labor, so maybe this week is it. Stay tuned!

37 weeks

I went to my 37 week appointment today. The doctor checked me and said that I'm 1cm dilated and 80% effaced. So, that means that we've progressed nicely from last week (fingertip and "a little" effaced then). I thought that 80% thinned out sounded like a whole lot! Apparently you can walk around that way for weeks, or you could go at any point when you get that far. I read that most first-time mommies thin out first, then dilate, so I'm hoping that I'm on the right track! We shall see.

36 week appointment

I saw the doctor today for my 36 week appointment. He did my first internal exam. It was totally tolerable and way less scary than I'd thought it'd be. He said I was a fingertip dilated, but while he was feeling for her head, I bled a good bit and he thinks he may have pushed me closer to 1cm. I'll take it! The cervix is already shortening, meaning I'm already becoming effaced, but he didn't want to give it a percentage yet. He did an ultrasound to make sure her head was down (IT IS!!) and went ahead and checked to make sure she is still a she while he was looking (SHE IS!!). I gained 6 freakin' pounds THIS WEEK, but my doctor assures me I'm still at a healthy weight and that it's water weight that showed up so suddenly. I believe that since my feet look like inflated medical gloves at the moment. Overall, a great appointment! When I left, he said "I'll see you next week if not sooner." Eeeeeeee!

35 weeks!

We're now 35 weeks in! Dylan is the size of a Honeydew... 18+ inches and 5 1/2 lbs. I picked up a 5 1/2 lb. honeydew and it is HUGE! She's supposed to gain 1/2 lb. every week for the next 5 weeks. That's a lot! Here are the newest belly shots.

35 weeks!

We're officially 35 weeks along now. That means only 2 weeks until I'm considered "full term." Of course I'd rather her come closer to her due date, but they say that any baby born after 37 weeks gestation won't even need to go to the NICU or anything. Pretty exciting stuff. Also, it's April! That means that when a lady asked me this morning when I was due, I got to say "the beginning of next month." That felt great/terrifying! Holy crap we've still got a lot to do before we're parents! Are we ready for this?! I'm going to go breathe into a paper bag now.