39 week appt, disappointments, and renewed hope

Wow, what a week!!! So since my 38 week appointment, I've been getting a lot of "pressure". Yeah sure some pressure down there, but mostly peer pressure. "You haven't had the baby yet" "Oh, you're still at work" "When's the baby coming". It goes on and on. Not to mention that between work and church, I'm trying to make last minute preparations for my departure which only reminds me that it could be anyday. That's exciting but also extremely frustrating when I go to bed each night with no labor pains and no baby.

So then finally David and I decided we would try some natural induction methods on Sunday night. Let me explain that this is what put me into labor with my son. I'm also 100% sure that it won't work if my body and the baby just aren't ready. I won't divulge every detail of what our "natural induction methods" are, but basically a bath, accupressure, massage, etc. The result was a few contractions some getting a little painful but basically nothing that lasted. Guess my body just wasn't ready. We tried again Monday with even less luck. Then Tuesday. Did the same routine but added a spicy dinner and by the time I had gotten out of the bathtub, I had 4 REALLY strong contractions. I started to time them while reading and they were consistently 5 minutes apart and I had to stop reading and breath through them.

So we packed our bags. Most of it was already packed, just needed a few last minute items. Then 2 hours later, around 10:30, we both decided I should try and lay down if this was real labor. If this was real labor, then just lying down shouldn't make them go away. Well I fell asleep and while I'm sure I had a few contractions while I was sleeping and even some strong enough to wake me, by morning, there was NOTHING! I couldn't believe how certain I was that this was labor and then nothing??? So very disappointed. David was also pretty bummed.

I'm still not 100% sure what to think. I honestly don't think my induction methods would have made my contractions go for that long if my body wasn't at least a little ready, but then why did they stop? Oh well. Fast forward to my doctor's appointment on Wednesday.

I was 3 cm!!! WOO HOO. So maybe all those contractions were doing something! And the best news ever. My doctor is in fact NOT going to be out of town next week. I guess it didn't line up for his kid's spring break schedules or something, so he isn't going to be in the office on Thursday or Friday but it sounds like he will be on-call all week. Such a relief!!!

So after lots of thinking, I'm just going to rest and relax between now and Sunday. Sunday is Palm Sunday. Noah is going to be performing in the kid's program and David and I's 1st graders will be singing, so it's definitely something we don't want to miss. If I go into labor between now and then, great! If not, then we'll try some of our induction methods again on Sunday. Otherwise, I'm just going to try to enjoy the last few days of pregnancy, get some stuff done around the house, go shopping, and just enjoy myself. I have to stop pressuring myself to have the baby everyday, it just leads to so much disappointment. I know she'll come when she's ready and evidently she must be pretty cozy in there. My biggest fear is going for too long and then worrying that the doctor will start talking induction, but honestly I really don't think I will go past my due date. I just have a feeling!

38 week appt

I had my weekly appointment at the OB's yesterday. We had to wait almost an hour, apparently he was running a little behind. We've never had to wait that long, but oh well. Everything looks good, bp is still the same (right at normal) and weight is up a little from the past weeks but I've definitely gotten my appetite back so that's no surprise. I was still 2 cm and about 75% effaced, so no change from the previous week. That's a little surprising just because I feel like I've had more contractions this past week, but maybe there was a little change and it was just hard to measure from the previous week.

I'm pretty certain she isn't going to be making her arrival this week and I will see my OB again next Wednesday, but we'll see. He's not on-call this weekend, so no going into labor then!

I'm still recovering from my sinus infection. Most of the sinus pressure and coughing has gone away, but if anything the congestion has gotten worse. My nose is so clogged up and just won't clear. It almost feels like my sinus passageways are teeny tiny and just can't open enough to let air go through. It's a really weird "drowning" feeling that I hate. Hopefully that will resolve itself within a day or two. Tomorrow is my last day of antibiotics and then with the recommendation of my OB and doula, I will start probiotics.

37 week appt

I had my 37 week appointment yesterday. Still 2 cm and found out that last week I was also 75% effaced. But as my doctor said "still floating around in there". My belly is measuring right on 37 weeks and my blood pressure and everything else all looked fine. I did lose 2 pounds but with being sick, I think that was to be expected. I found out that I am GBS - which is a huge relief to me because I really didn't want to figure out what to do if I was positive and was instructed to go to the hospital as soon as I was in labor for antibiotics. So no big changes, just keep on being pregnant. And at this point, that is more than fine with me since I'm still sick and really don't want to be in labor while sick. I can say that I think I'm finally getting better. I'm just taking it one day at a time, but I really hope that I can recover quicker than normal.

We are for the most part ready for her to arrive. I want to clean out the cars this weekend and get the bases installed. I also need to pack my hospital bag and get a few last minute things together, but then I'll be ready. Then I just need to focus on work. I'm not really concerned about getting x number of projects done before I leave, but I do want to get things a little more in order before I dump everything on someone else.

Being sick is HORRIBLE!

So I mentioned in my last post that I had a fever on Wednesday and thought I was getting better on Thursday. Well that was the farthest thing from the truth. I ended up having a fever all afternoon/evening Thursday and then Friday I was still feeling really yucky. The sinus pressure was unbearable all day Thursday and Friday. Friday I did think that maybe I was feeling a bit better and went and got Noah from daycare and picked up their coming home shirts, but I was still pretty bad off. Saturday morning I finally went to urgent care. They weren't super helpful but basically told me that I had the flu but that was gone and now I had a sinus infection. They gave me an antibiotic, but told me that it could be a few days before it would start working. And then a bunch of people I've talked to said sinus infections can take weeks to resolve.

Saturday was a tiny bit better and then today also another step better. I think I may actually be on the upswing of all this. Hopefully everyday I get better and by the time Emilee decides to make her arrival, I'm 100%.

We had maternity photos done today. And we have a doula appt this week. After that, I feel fairly confidant that we've done everything we need to do. I have my 37 week appointment this week.

36 week appt

I went for my 36 week appt yesterday. I am about 2 cm dilated. Looking back to Noah's pregnancy, I was also 2 cm at my 36 week appointment, so there really is no indication that I'm going to have the baby any time soon. But it's always good to know my body is making some progress.

He did the GBS strep test and I should get the results back next week. Hoping it comes back negative like the first time around.

Otherwise, nothing too exciting. I technically lost 2 pounds but that's not too surprising with how sick I've been these last few days. Yesterday I had a 102 fever almost all day. Regardless of pregnancy, it sucked being that sick. I do feel slightly better today. Just have a lot of sinus pressure.

We are almost ready for baby. Need to still pack my bags though.

Small Update

I updated my blog picture to one of his 2 year pictures. He's such a cutie!!! I know it's not perfect, but it will do for now and it's better than a 1 year old picture. I plan to do a total blog revamp after I have Emilee and include her picture as well. Patience.

Speaking of Emilee, I'm done being pregnant. I'm trying my very best to enjoy these last few weeks of pregnancy. I really am. But it's so hard. I'm very anxious and ready to just meet her and start our bonding. But I'm also just tired of the normal pregnancy aches and pains. I'm tired of working busy season. I'm tired of everything. I need change. This is probably more my crazy pregnancy hormones, but I've definitely become more irritable with everyone lately. Normally busy season doesn't get on my nerves, but this year, has been a lot tougher. I just don't have the patience to deal with it.

Ok, that's enough ranting. I have my 36 week appointment with my OB on Wednesday and I will update again then.

Bad Mommy!

It's so hard to be a good mommy, especially to a 2 year old. A very stubborn, have-to-have-it-my-way 2 year old. But I'm trying.

This morning, Noah was eating a banana for breakfast and Mommy was eating waffles. Noah decided half way through that he had to have my waffles and didn't want his banana anymore. I said "No, you have to finish your banana first, then I'll give you some waffles". Cue temper tantrum. It was the screaming, banging your head on the floor kind. He then got up, temper seemed to be under control, tears had stopped and said "Mommy, waffles" and I said "No, you have to eat your banana first" and round 2 began. This time he resorted to Daddy and asked him for waffles and he said the same thing. We asked him several times if he wanted his banana and his response everytime was "NO, I don't want it".

This was now more about being consistent and following through even after the tantrums, then about giving him waffles. So finally after much internal debate, he decided it was worth it and ate his banana. Then very nicely asked for waffles. At that point, I had finished, so I popped him in some of his own and we watched the toaster do its work. At this point, he became this giggly, laughing, cute 2 year old that I love. It's amazing how fast their moods change.

In the end, he got his waffle and everyone was happy, including Mommy who was so glad I stood my ground. I hate seeing my little baby cry and be all upset especially when I hold the key to making him happy but I know that if I give in this time, next time, he'll cry even harder the next time to get what he wants. Maybe this makes me a bad mommy but it works for Noah as we've seen it work in other ways in his life. Example - Noah ate almost all his green beans at dinner the other night even though I know it was tough work for him to do (I don't blame him, I'm not a fan either).