38 week appointment

I am dilated to 1cm. I don't know about my effacement, but the doctor did say that the baby's head is RIGHT THERE. No wonder I'm so uncomfortable and feel so much pressure. He stripped my membranes for me and I lost my plug. I need to be dilated to at least a 3 before they will induce me, so he couldn't sign me up for an induction. It's okay, though. Hazen should be here no matter what, so I feel a million times better. Baby can come at any time now. I'm kind of crampy now and bleeding a little bit, so we'll see if anything comes of it. I'm okay when I'm sitting, but pretty sore when I stand up. The membrane stripping wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. He told me it would hurt, but all I felt was a lot of pressure. It wasn't too bad at all. He told me I was a tough lady, though, since I barely flinched. It was awkward, yes, but it wasn't excruciating. He tried to do a really good job and went over it a few times--he felt so bad that he couldn't sign me up for an induction. He's a really sweet doctor--I kind of wish I'd started seeing him at the beginning.

38 weeks and contractions

I had contractions all last night. They weren't regular--every 2-20 minutes--but they were the strongest I've had. It was hard to fall asleep with them, but once I did, I was able to sleep through them. It was miserable and great at the same time. I've never been so excited to feel so horrible. It was after sex, so we'll definitely be doing more of that. I don't know what it is that made it happen (I know there is a hormone in semen that causes the cervix to soften, but I don't know what caused the contractions), but it worked and I'm sticking with what works. :) I also got this recipe that there is a rumor it will start labor within 48 hours. I'm skeptical, but I'm totally making it on Tuesday. With membrane stripping on Monday and the eggplant recipe on Tuesday, Ian has no choice but to pop out (it's a nice thought, at least). :)

Not feeling well

I haven't been feeling well since about 10 last night. I don't know if it means anything or not. I get the feeling I'm in early labor, but it can last for weeks. My back is hurting pretty badly and I have so much cramping happening right now. I also feel slightly like I'm going to throw up. I just feel really uncomfortable. I think Ian has dropped some more--I've been up to pee more tonight than the rest of the pregnancy. We went to bed at 12 and I've been up at 1, 3, and 4:30. It's 5:30 now and I've been up since 4:30 (I can't fall back to sleep--I swear I'm wide awake) and have been to the bathroom since then. I have this major urge to DO things. I don't know if I'm nesting or if i'm just making myself nuts from being awake. I know I need more sleep, but I just can't right now. I'm hoping I'll crash soon, but I don't know. I might end up scrubbing floors. I actually think I'm going to go for a little walk and see if I can maybe get some contractions going--it works sometimes. If nothing else, it might tire me out so I can go back to sleep. When I told Hazen how uncomfortable I was last night he said "Maybe you're getting ready to have a baby". I don't know. I wish there was some magic way to know "Oh, you'll be in labor tomorrow". That would be wonderful. :) I think I will go on my little walk. It's early, so it's not too hot at all. I'll look pretty silly (full term pregnant lady walking around at the buttcrack of dawn) but it's what I feel like doing right now.

37 week appointment

I didn't get my internal today--so disappointed. Honestly, it's okay though. Even if I am making progress (I better be!!) it doesn't tell me a lot--it could still mean labor tomorrow or labor in 4 weeks. There is no way to know. He did tell me that my weight gain is PERFECT--exactly what he likes to see, and that he hasn't see a gain as good as mine in awhile. It made me feel good. :) My weight is starting to stabalize, which is good. The baby is taking pretty much everything at this point and gaining anywhere from half a pound to a pound a week. The doctor did feel my belly and the baby is head down and low. He said that Ian is probably about 7 pounds now and will likely be right around 8 when we deliver. He assured me he wouldn't be the nearly 11 pound monster Hazen was. :) Hazen really wants the baby to come, I think mostly because he will be ROD'd until he leaves by then. :) We'll be having a lot of sex and doing a lot of walking in the next few days--I'm hoping it will help. I've been having menstrual cramps which the doctor told me where "delocalized contractions". Basically, they're confused. :) He said my body is figuring out things need to start happening soon, but it's still not completely sure of what to do, I guess. I thought it was funny. He was happy to hear that I am having some painful contractions every so often, so he expects that I'm making progress and that the baby can get here at any time. Hopefully while he's still closer to 7 pounds than 8...:) I will for sure have my membranes stripped next week as long as I'm dilating. Hopefully, though, I'll be in labor before then...

Full term tomorrow!

Like my title indicates--tomorrow Ian will officially be full term. He can come and be healthy at any time. So exciting. :) I finally got my lab results--everything came back normal. I'm disappointed. :( I do have my first internal on Monday though, so I'm really excited about that. I think this is the first time in my life I have been EXCITED about an exam down there. And it's not just an exam, it's a PAINFUL exam. Even worse, I'm hoping he'll be able to strip my membranes--another PAINFUL thing. And I'm looking forward to it. :) I finally cried for a little while about Hazen leaving this morning--first time since finding out he might go. I feel better now though--just needed to get it out, I guess. I'm stressing a little. My hope was that Ian would come at 37 weeks, and here we are and no baby and no idea when he's coming. It's horrible because everytime I do anything (walk, have sex) I expect something to happen. I'm so disappointed that I haven't lost my plug or anything (I think I might have lost some pieces of it, but definitely not the dramatic glob I'm looking for). So everyday I'm not in labor I get a little sadder. I really think he's dropped now. My tummy did some dramatic shape changing over the last couple of days, and he's not in my ribs anymore--yay! I have also had my appetite back for three days--I have sooo missed eating! I've even had seconds at dinner the last couple of nights. Believe me, it's a BIG DEAL. :)

Fireants

Those evil little things will not die! We spray (okay, Hazen sprays), we find their evil little hideouts, we clean the whole flipping house top to bottom, and two days later, we're getting bit again. They're sneaky and evil--at least they haven't started coming in the bedroom window again (THAT was a fun morning--poor Hazen). I was in the bathroom (as I usually am) and noticed one little ant on the floor. Okay, one. I can keep an eye on one. But then out of nowhere comes another--so two. A little trickier, but I can still make sure they're not attacking me. Then suddenly, there are 5. Now I can just feel them crawling on me and I totally have the heebie jeebies. I'm so sick of getting bit! And these little things are EVIL. They don't just crawl on you like a normal ant, oh no! They find a spot and they ATTACH causing pain until you're finally able to find the jerk and kill it. I had one crawl up my pant leg and settle in the back of the knee. I kept telling Hazen I thought I was getting bit and he kept telling me it was impossible. I had to pry the thing off of me.
I hate them.

36 week appointment

I had my appointment with Dr. Bean, a delivery doctor. It turns out that he is the main OB doctor, so I was a little nervous he would be rude or arrogant, but he was actually really nice and sweet and listened to me well. We saw him to talk about the possibility of a 39 week induction. He said he couldn't promise me an induction at this point because we have to see how I'm progressing and I need to be a little closer to 39 weeks first. Fair enough. My blood pressure has been borderline high the entire pregnancy, and I guess the last two appointments I have gone over their set number of what's okay. Because of that, I had to give blood at the lab and I had to take a jug home with me to pee in. I had to collect all my urine for a 24 hour period, and I just dropped it off today (the 19th). I will call in a few hours for the results. Because of my high blood pressure, I am now seeing the doctor weekly when I was only seeing him every 2-4 weeks before. At my next appointment, I will begin my internals, and if I'm progressing, they will begin stripping my membranes (yay!! That's supposed to hurt a bit but I don't care--lets get this baby out!). If my urine comes back abnormal, we will begin talking about getting the baby out sooner--as early as next week depending on how bad the results are. I am honestly hopeful for bad results. The more time Hazen gets with the baby, the happier we'll be. :) All I can do is hope that the results are a concern or that Ian decides to come on his own in the next couple of weeks. I really hope he gets his little butt out soon. His movements have been pretty nuts lately. I think he's hit a growth spurt because despite the fact that he's dropping, I can feel him up in my ribs again. I had a little while of pain free ribs, but the last two days he's been right back up there. Nearly all of the movement I'm feeling is either there or very low in my pelvis, so I think that boy has stretched out as far as he possibly can. I'll update with my pee results. :)

Feeling different

I don't know what's going on, but I'm feeling a little strange lately. 2 days ago, I suddenly felt really horrible and tired--I had to go home and take a 3 hour nap. Last night I was having some cramping and bm issues. Since about 3am, I've had light menstrual cramps--the kinds where it feels like my period is either coming or going. Yesterday I had a lot more braxton hicks than usual, and I'm having a few today as well. I really hope it's a sign that things are starting for me. I would call L&D, but I have an appointment tomorrow morning. If I start to feel worse with really bad cramps, I will definitely call, but for now I think I'm okay. Ian is still moving like normal (he's hiccuping now, in fact), so I know he's doing okay. I hope my doctor will check me tomorrow--I'm so anxious to know if I'm making progress!

34 weeks, 4 days

Haven't updated in awhile. Not a lot to add, really. I've been drinking my red raspberry tea (icky stuff, but if it'll get Ian here before my due date, I'm all for it). I've also been taking Evening Primrose Oil. That stuff isn't bad. It's just a couple of natural oil pills everyday--very easy. But apparently it's more effective if at 36 weeks you use it vaginally, so I might start doing that. Not too sure about sticking stuff up the hoo-ha, but, again, if it gets Ian here a little early, I'm all for it. I checked my cervix the other day. That thing feels FUNKY. It's very squishy, so I am SOOOO hoping that it means I'm starting to soften and efface and all that stuff. It also felt slightly open, so maybe I'm a cm dilated. Or maybe I should just keep my hands out since I really have no idea what I'm feeling for--I just know it feels different than it did back when I was trying to get pregnant. I'm pretty excited about being almost 35 weeks--this means if my doctor goes for the induction, I won't be pregnant for more than 4 more weeks. Looking back, being pregnant was a lot of fun. It's really exciting hitting every milestone--2nd trimester, hearing the heartbeat, feeling movement, finding out the sex, Hazen feeling a kick, hiccups, third trimester. I swear in this third trimester every WEEK is like a huge milestone--woo hoo! I'm a week closer to holding my baby boy! I have a little guilt because I'm sooo looking forward to having the baby. And then I remind myself that the sooner the baby gets here, the sooner Hazen leaves. I am not ready for him to leave at all. It's like I know that he's going, but I don't think I've really accepted it. I know I'm going to have my breakdown soon--I always have a breakdown--I just wish I had some idea when it would happen. And I hate to do that to him. I try to remember that this thing is sooo much worse for him--at least I get to stay with the baby and watch him grow. Hazen is going to leave a 2 week old (I hope) and come back to a 6 or 7 month old. It's a big change. It makes me so sad. :( Ian has been a busy little guy the last few days. I'm not sure what he's doing, but it's awkward feeling. I haven't had to do my kickcounts the last 3 days because I know he's fine--he's moving plenty. Last night he was up at 3 and 6. I've heard that the sleep pattern they have in the womb is very similar to the one that they have when they're born, so I guess I should expect to be up around 3 and 6--it's not the first time he's been active then. He was also wiggling around quite a bit when I woke up (at 11:30. All I want to do anymore is sleep). His hiccups seem to be lasting longer, too. Sometimes he'll give me a huge bump while he has them. Maj. Korkosz told me they don't bother them, but I don't know--I know they bother me and when I'm getting body slammed from the inside, I can't help but think they're bugging him a little bit, too. We have decided to circumsize (it wasn't a question for Hazen, I did a little more research on it though). Well, apparently there is a MySpace person that stalks pages and finds people who are having baby boys. His sn is Not Sircumsized and all his pictures and things are of non-circumsicion groups, and baby's upset about being cut and all his blogs are also about it. That's fine, but don't ask to be my friend. I will do what I want with my little boys' penis (I know that sounds awful, but, yeah...). So I was a little insulted by that. I feel bad enough that I'm going to make my poor baby cry--I think I'm going to make Hazen stand in there with him. He doesn't want to, but it was his decision, so I think that's only fair. Poor baby needs someone he recognizes holding his hand. Well, I am off to shower and return some movies before Hazen gets up and needs the car. I'll try to update more often. There just isn't much going on these days other than my impatience to get the kid OUT.