37 weeks

37 weeks, 4 days

I really do have quite a bit to update you on but I've just not felt like writing. Don't get me wrong, I obviously have plenty of time. I admittedly thought I wouldn't have to write this (I thought he would be here by now) so that's making it a little bit harder to complete. Joe has even taken up nagging me to write a post which I think is funny because he obviously knows everything that's going on. I guess I figure most of my readers (or regular commenters anyway) text me daily to check on me so the important people already know most of this. But, I realize I do have other readers (thank you, google analytics!) who want an update...That and this blog is, first and foremost, for me (and Joe and Baby T). I find myself having a hard time even remembering things that happened a few days ago so I need to be better about writing this stuff here because I know I'm going to want to remember it in the future. Now, onto the updates.



I've had 3 more doctor appointments since I wrote last week. Each of them consisted of a sonogram and a meeting with Dr. Bennett. Without giving you the full rundown of each appointment, I'll say that Baby is stable. My fluids have been the big concern and they have continued to fluctuate. They started off at a 6, then moved to a 7.8 as I mentioned in my previous post. Since then I've gotten a 7, a 7.2 and today, the highest of them all, an 8.4! Dr. Bennett is a very non-intervention type person so as long as he's stable and consistent, we're still at the status quo. This is one of my favorite things about her since I'm very low intervention myself but it's still a bit hard on my patience. I know in the end, he should come when he's ready though so it's good thing.

One of the problems we had last week was also that his breathing was not consistent. Each ultrasound since then we've had zero issues with it so that's been a relief. Although, we have noticed that my fluid is almost non-existent on what they consider the right lower and upper quadrants of my uterus. The Babes back and butt are taking up this entire space. Baby T's head is down in my lower left quadrant (which has the most fluid) so he is taking advantage of all that fluid to help him breathe. I'm not sure if you know this but one of the ways that you can see so well in the sono is if there is a bunch of fluid present. Since my entire right hand side has almost no fluid (seriously, it measured at a 0), the entire screen goes blank on that side. It's really weird and it has gradually gotten worse in the last week. It will be interesting to get all the measurements we need on Thursday with this happening. Most 38 weekers don't get sonograms so it is especially hard to get everything to show on screen. Sorry, I'm rambling.

So, fluid is good, breathing is good, heart rate is good too. He's consistently 140s to the mid 150s.

However, movement has been a stressor for me. The docs have made sure that I am doing my kick counts and that he is remaining active. Now, the thing with activity is that as the baby gets bigger, he obviously has less room, which makes it harder for him to move. This becomes an interesting situation. While he is still moving consistently, he has decreased his movement a bit. He does gradual shifts but no real strong punches and kicks. There are certain parts of the day where my entire right side of my stomach is sticking out. I keep saying I'm going to get it on video because I'm completely lopsided. It's not an actual indent of a foot or a hand but it's a huge protrusion coming out of my stomach which is either his entire back pushing out or his butt...or both. So yeah, annoying to say the least. Not the kicking part (he can keep that up as much as he wants), the obsessive worry about the kicking.




Today's appointment, I was scheduled for another NST. It was a "routine" test for me but not necessarily all that common in pregnancy. It's a piece of cake but can be a bit annoying if the baby is not cooperating. Essentially, they lay me down in a big comfy recliner and strap me into two different monitors, both of which are external stomach monitors. The first records the babies heart rate. The second monitor records any contractions or uterine movements. After I am strapped in, they give you a handheld button thing (it's the same device the contestants on Jeopardy use to buzz in for answers...What do you call those things?). I am to push that button any time I feel the baby move. Super simple. I get to lay in a chair and relax, reading a magazine and push a button. No problem..... except when the baby doesn't move for an hour. BUZZKILL.

That happened today, of course. He was sleepy so we had a very simple pattern of consistent heart rates and no contractions along with no movement. The whole point of the test is to make sure that they get the response they want and in order to do that, he has to be moving. Thankfully, it was nearing lunch time and it never fails, that when he gets hungry, he gets irritable. He gradually started to shift and move and with each movement, his heart rate would increase. It was kinda interesting to watch the pattern. The more he moved, the more his heart rate went up....which is exactly what they want to see. It was even cooler to see the rise in contractions start the more he moved. I hadn't realized that I was even contracting until he started to get really irritated in there. At one point, a few of my contractions were going off the scale but thankfully I couldn't feel them. Well, I could kinda tell they were there (it felt like very mild, almost nonexistent cramping). I think though that if I hadn't been watching the monitor and knowing that they were happening, I wouldn't have even paid attention.

(Gah, this is getting long. I really need to update more so these things don't get so wordy!)

Eventually, we got the okay and I was released.

For records sake, my blood pressure is still pretty on par (today it was 114/72), urine is clear, I did gain 1 pound (up to 11 total now.) I had a negative test result with the Group B strep test. (I won't go into that, might be a bit TMI for my readers, so if you want to know the deets, text me or google. You're welcome.) The internals have started and I'm at 1 cm and 50% effaced...Lame. Although, I've decided to decline those in the future since they mean jack crap and either get your hopes up or disappointment them.

Before I end this crazy long rambling session, I have to note that I'm still feeling pretty good, physically anyway. I've been preparing myself that he won't come until I start to get uncomfortable so I'm afraid I'm gonna have to get used to this whole bed rest thing. Pretty much sucks as I'm ready for him to be here but I know to take advantage of this time (trust me, I'm sleeping like mad!) He, unfortunately, does a number on my ribs still so he has some descention to get to, as well. Every time I shift or moan, Joe looks at me like a crazy person. I swear, he's so paranoid I'm having contractions and going to go into labor that he is on edge 24/7. The poor guy is a nervous wreck. I won't even get into him waking at 3am because he has himself so stressed out. It's as if I'm sleeping enough for the both of us.




We've reached our very last fruit, you guys! Exciting stuff going down! Now that we have reached full term, The Bump has informed me that baby is gaining a 1/2 ounce a day and gearing up for his first poop. (I'm serious, that's what it says.) Baby T is also brushing up on his skills for the outside world which include gripping. This makes me squee with glee thinking about the teeny tiny fingers.