40 Weeks and 4 Days

Ok, I give in, I am finally counting.

Yesterday we had an appointment with the midwife. She did a cervical exam and the good news is that we are making progress. At the clinic I have been going to, they are not crazy about doing cervical exams because the numbers really mean nothing in relation to when the baby is going to be born. Every birth is different and some people go straight from no progress to birth, whereas other people hang out partially dialated for weeks.

So as of yesterday afternoon, my cervix is soft but in the posterior position, I am 70% effaced, 1 CM dialated, and the baby is at -3 station. Basically, there is a lot that needs to happen still. I've had some contractions, but they are random with no pattern and not very intense. Today I've started to have some "bloody show" (I really wish there was a less gross term for it) so hopefully that means little Speckers is on his way soon.

If I haven't had the baby by Friday, I have to go in for an "NST & AFI". The NST is a non-stress test, just to make sure that the baby is still responding correctly to external factors. The AFI is a measure of how much amniotic fluid is still in there. Assuming those test results turn out OK, Speck gets to keep on hanging out till he thinks it's a good time to make an appearance.

In the mean time, leg cramps are still torturing me. Today I seem to be able to make it a little bit further before they flare up, but they are bad enough that I'm letting the mail sit in the box which is only about 3 houses away for fear of having leg cramps on the way to the mailbox and having a neighbor think I'm having contractions.

Tomorrow is a full moon. They say lots of babies are born on full moons, and frankly, I think it would be kind of cool to have the baby on a full moon. Wish me luck.

Past Due & Still Waiting

Well, my due date has come and gone and we are now quickly approaching the original due date of April 13th. All along I have been very committed to giving birth naturally and letting the baby and my body determine when the time is right, but I have to say I am starting to see why so many people cave and do inductions.

The leg cramps I was having problems with a couple of weeks ago have returned full force. I can make it about 5 steps before I get a charlie-horse like pain in my leg and need to sit down. 5 steps, by the way, is not quite enough to get from my bed to the toilette so by the time I get to the potty the cats are following me looking concerned. So I guess I'm pretty much on self imposed bed rest today. It's disappointing, because I had envisioned I would spend these final days before birth out walking, but I'm nervous to leave the house. When I'm NOT having leg cramps, my hip seems to be spontaneously dislocating itself. I've literally gotten "stuck" several times in the last week and had to call Erik to come help me get from point A to point B.

Every little ache or pain, I find myself hoping that it is a pre-labor sign. I suppose that they probably are. I've had some small and random contractions over the last week or so, but nothing to get excited about.

To make matters worse, it seems like the whole world is waiting for me to have a baby. Every time I make a phone call, the person I'm calling answers all excited thinking I've got news. I can barely even keep up with all the FaceBook comments from friends checking in. I'm starting to feel pressured!!

Speck, I don't know what you are still waiting for, but your Mom is ready! :)

Waiting Game

Well, depending on which due date I go by, we are almost there! The "official" due date is the 4th, which is this weekend. Personally, I think the baby will come on the 7th or the 9th, but we will see.

At this point, I've pretty much got all my ducks in a row. I'm still working on picking a pediatrician and have 2 more interviews this week. I finally found day care that will take my cloth diapers (thank goodness) and got her locked into a contract. I gave up on getting the detail house cleaning done and have a cleaning lady working on it right now. Still need to pack the hospital bag...for some reason I am resisting that one, but I do have a list of what needs to go in it!

I decided to start my maternity leave a little early. I thought I was going to be a super woman and work all the way up to delivery, but I've been so distracted trying to get all these other loose ends taken care of that I decided to just give myself a break. So today is my second day of leave.

Earlier this week my grandfather died. I know it has been rough on my mom and aunt, who were both close to him. My best friend said to me "oh you are having a 'replacement baby'". If this is the case, then we can look forward to Speck having a sweet tooth, a love for animals, and an uncanny ability to fall asleep during movies. These are the things I remember most about my Grandpa!