Work has been completely ape-shit lately, and I really hope that stress doesn't somehow prolong the onset of labor. Last week I was in stores all week, including one day that started at 3:30 AM. Normally I love this kind of stress, but not while this pregnant. Matt is on spring break this coming week, and the ladies at school have asked him if he feels guilty about being home from school while I still have to work during the week before I'm due. He tells them he does, but I know he wouldn't trade being home for anything at this point ;)
Our hope was that Bug would decide to come maybe this weekend, or even early this next week so that Matt could be home with us for two weeks instead of just one. We attempted what we could this weekend, and it is now Sunday afternoon and nothing has seemed to work. I think I have walked over six miles in the last two days (which, seriously, at this point is quite the feat) and all it has done is made me uncontrollably hungry and even more exhausted.
At last week's appointment, everything was fine, and for the first time in I don't know HOW many weeks I actually didn't gain any weight. She measured me, as usual, did the cooter check (still 1 cm, with cervix longer than I'd like), etc. Then when she was done she said she wanted me to have an ultrasound to see how big Bug was, since I had been "measuring large." Measuring large? Since when??? This was the first I had heard of this. The week before last I think I might have been like measuring at 38 instead of actually 37, but I had heard (from her) before that that was "within the margin of error." And I just had an ultrasound at 34 weeks and she was smack in the middle.
Sigh. So anyway, I made the ultrasound appointment for the following day, since that was all they had available. We went to the Edina office instead of the downtown one, and clearly I've been missing out. The ultrasound machine at the Edina office is light years ahead of the one downtown, which I think still has a floppy disk drive. They measured Bug's parts, and when they got to the thigh bone, the tech asked Matthew if he was "tall." Apparently our child has really long thigh bones, which I am not complaining about. When all was said and measured, the estimate was that the stinker was 8 pounds, 3 ounces. With 2, possibly 3 more weeks to go. Good Lord.
I know that big babies are healthy babies, and that the margin of error when you have an ultrasound this late in the game are on the larger side, but seriously. I may give birth to an elephant. They also told me that my fluid levels were quite high, which would also explain why I was measuring larger (and then you see me in real life and it's not like I look THAT gigantic, right?). Apparently normal range for fluid at 38 weeks was up to 23.5 (unit of measure undetermined) and I was at a 21.
The doctor happened to be in the office at the time, so we met with her again (I know, a day after I had already seen her, but I don't care). She checked me again (no progress) and tested the crap that keeps coming out and alas, it was not the fluid that would get me into labor and delivery. I asked her again what the threshold on baby size was for any preemptive action, and she said that Bug would have had to have been 10+ pounds for them to have considered anything. She would hate to have to induce someone with my (lack) of progress, since it would be an incredibly long and drawn out process. And even still, they wouldn't do anything before 39 weeks.
THEN she asked me if I had "any desire to labor" or if I had thought about an elective C-section. Seriously? You're asking me this? Do you realize that this plays to every irrational thought in my brain? I only have so many rational thoughts available, and I think we're down to maybe one a day. Current irrationalities include:
- OMG, is the baby really that big that I have to think about this already? Is it really going to be that impossible to get her out the normal way? Am I going to be in the National Enquirer when all is said and done?
- Do you realize that ALL I WANT at this point is to KNOW when Bug is going to come out, and you have now given me this sliver of opportunity to schedule my birth?
- Well of course no one really wants or perhaps enjoys the labor process, but it is a successful means to an end... and here's a chance to have a baby with little to no contractions?
- For every horrifying vaginal birth story, there is a piece-of-cake vaginal birth story. Same goes for C-sections. I know people that have had relatively no complications, and I know some that have struggled afterward.
- Am I really honestly taking this seriously? No no no no no no no no. (See, there was that one a day).
Depending on how far I go, there might be another ultrasound to check size. Seriously. Elephant.
38 weeks. Can you tell the days are getting longer? It is now still sunny at 6:30 PM!
There was a request for some nursery pictures. Let's all use the term "nursery" loosely. The room is set up for the most part, but it also holds extra baby crap that we're prolonging putting in other areas of the house (read: swing) and is still missing the new chair. Also, big surprise, art project is not yet on the walls.
She's going to live upstairs with us for a while, anyway.
We have not yet screwed the changing pad into the dresser, because I am not convinced of final placement.
My first baby.
How far along? 38 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: +38 or so
Maternity clothes? Hopefully not TOO much longer
Stretch marks? I found one!
Sleep: Still on the couch. You can set your watch to my 3:00 AM bathroom break.
Best moment this week: We saw "two almonds" that confirm Bug is female. (Matt: "I don't know why you can't just say 'we saw her vagina'.")
Movement: Either we are sleeping unbelievably soundly or we are trying to bust out. Violently.
Food cravings: SUGAR
Gender: Girl
Belly button in or out? In
Labor Signs: I spent 37 weeks being concerned about too many contractions in an hour, and now I just pray they get closer together.
What I miss: Running for stress relief.
What I am looking forward to: Actual labor.
Weekly Wisdom: Use a condom unless you are prepared to be mildly psychotic and borderline physically miserable for weeks on end.
Milestones: I can now say that I am due "a week from Thursday"
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