And Still Pregnant

Thanks to everyone for wishing the baby would not be past its due date. I hoped it would not either. Alas, it was just not the right time.
The baby didn't know it was "due" yesterday. It is still just hanging out doing what it does. Unfortunately, I know it was due yesterday and I am anxious for it to be born.

I think the baby may be prevented from dropping by nature of the way I sit. I think it could still drop on its own, but it is simply difficult because I can't spend a couple hours at a time walking or some of the other things that can help my pelvis open up to give the baby the space to move down. Medical professionals don't really know what causes labor to start, but I would venture to guess that gravity helps things get ready and move along and that is why walking is highly & commonly recommended. I have been trying to change my positions and "wiggle my hips" to help things shift, to do what I can do. But I can't spend two hours doing that like you can if you go walking at the mall. Maybe my wiggling will help anyway?

I'm trying to keep up a good attitude. If pre-labor signs progress I will have an easier time going about the daily routine while we wait. But if everything just stays the same and I still just have an uncomfortably huge belly... that is depressing. So long as the baby is doing well, being "late" is not a problem. An absence of problems is good. I just have to remember that.

Week 39 - getting closer!

We are currently two days away from the baby's estimated due date.

"Wow, so close!" I think to myself.

I went to the doctor today and I'm going to share a few details that you might not want to know if you aren't into having babies, so feel free to skip to the last paragraph.

The doctor checked me and said that the cervix is softening but not effaced or dilated. He said there is plenty of amniotic fluid. The baby is still floating, not yet engaged. The doctor is anxious that the baby has still not dropped, but he wants to wait and let things progress naturally. He said he is on-call this weekend and that he would be happy to get a call from me with news that I'm labor. :)

I have been having some Braxton-Hicks contractions that tend to linger longer than than before. They have not been consistent and are taking their time in moving things along.

Janelle may have been past her due date by two weeks, give or take a few days, with her first child, but the doctor does not feel comfortable letting me more than about a week past my due date. If I haven't had the baby yet, they will do a non-stress test on Tuesday to make sure the baby and the placenta are still both in good shape.

The due date is Saturday, so I'm just hoping that is when it will be born. I'm telling myself and the baby that it is time to get ready for labor and start having contractions. I hoping that with enough mental motivation, prayer, and the nudge from the moon, we'll have a healthy baby born this weekend.

Here's hoping!

Working

I got a job almost two months ago. I was nervous about interviewing and being obviously pregnant, hoping that they didn't hold that against me. Luckily, with the help of always being seated and some wise clothing choices, only one person was the wiser. It was quite amusing when I told my supervisor at the end of my first day that I was expecting in two months. She was taken aback, and then asked if I was planning on coming back to work. :) The last full-time person in my position left after having a baby, so I understand her concern.

I am blessed that I work with people who are so happy and excited about children - they don't hold it against me that I'm leaving just when I'm getting the hang of things. :)

Most of my job thus far has been trying to figure out how things have been done and then trying to come up with a better way. The last person who was doing my job was only able to work about 10 hours a week - so I have a lot of room to make improvements.

The weather these last few days has been cold, icy and snowy. The morning it was icing I called front desk and asked one of the girls to come out to my car as I got out. With the solid ice that was coming down, I didn't want to take the chance of my chair slipping and me falling - so not worth it! When leaving work one of the other girls volunteered to walk out with me to make sure I got in the car without incident. As we got to the parking lot I saw another co-worker who was scraping the ice and snow off my car. How sweet are they!

I'm still pregnant

I'm trying to remind myself of what I enjoy about it before it is over. I am also very excited to have the baby... here is what I have so far.

Reasons I'm glad I'm still pregnant:
1. The baby is still growing, increasing the chances that it will be healthy and fully developed when it is born
2. I can feel the baby move in my belly. When I first started feeling it move it was a rather weird sensation - cool, but weird. Now I enjoy it so much I think I will miss it.
3. I can carry the baby with me in such an efficient manner. Josh and I still only use two seats in the car.
4. I can't see all that many stretch marks - I think they are hidden from my sight south of the belly button latitudinal line.

Reasons I'm looking forward to having the baby and the end of this pregnancy:
1. I want to see what he or she looks like!
2. We'll know if it is a boy or a girl! And it will have a name!!
3. I'll get to hold the baby in my arms and watch it sleep.
4. I'll get to lay on my back! Even if my sleep is interrupted by cries every few hours, I will enjoy being able to change positions easier.
5. I'll be able to see past my belly button, though I'm not sure I'll like what I find... I can feel the stretch marks even though I can't see them now.
6. My belly will be "squishy" again. It won't prevent me from leaning forward when I eat.
7. I'll lose some weight! I just hope that I will feel up to moving myself around.
8. The swelling in my feet will go down. It started getting bad about the time I thought the baby had dropped (it was just teasing me, by the way). If I don't put shoes on right away in the morning, getting them on at all is a lost cause. I put on a extra layer of super thick slipper socks and go with that.

As you can see, I'm more interested in having the baby than staying pregnant right now, but all indications are that the baby is not ready for the outside world yet.

A little bit closer

Last week I think the baby dropped. I can fit more food in at a meal and I don't get short of breath so often anymore. The other symptom that supports my conclusion is that when I go from laying to sitting up I feel a lot of pressure in the pelvic area. If I sit up very, very gradually it makes a smoother transition. The baby is so low, my ability to bend and reach things is even more restricted. I can't lean forward to eat over my plate, which makes me laugh!

With the first baby they say the it can be several weeks after it drops before it is ready to be born. So if it dropped in week 35, that doesn't mean I'm about to go into labor. Obviously, since it is a week later now. :)

P.S. I hope you see my humor.

Layout

I think I've figured out how the baby lays most of the time. At my last appointment, the midwife felt around on my belly and helped me identify its body parts.

The baby's head is down, which is good so long as it stays that way! It's back is along the right side of my belly, and its arms and legs are towards my left side. I told the midwife about the little movement that I feel really low on my left side and she thought it was probably feet.

I think this is the way the baby is positioned most of the time based on the type of movement that I feel and where. I think I feel it stretch out its legs while it is doubled over. I will feel small little feet low on my left side while what must be its bottom pushes out high on my right side.

I want the baby to get bigger before it comes out in the world, but I just don't see how it can. I suppose that is why baby's are miracles.

Big and feeling it

With less than six week until the due date, I'm really beginning to feel big, or make that enormous. For me, I am enormous, though other people don't always agree. I have my doubts that the baby has anywhere left to go as it packs on the extra pounds here at the end. Sometimes I feel the baby move up by my ribs and I think I'm losing space to breathe. And maybe even space to eat.

I try my best to include the extra calories that I'm supposed to eat everyday, but it is difficult. I'm reminded of the beginning of this pregnancy when I could only eat two bites and anything more made me gag. I'm not gagging now, I just don't think there is room in my stomach for much food at a time!