another week down! life is turning into a blur of waiting around for this baby, in spite of my best efforts to keep busy. which i am! but still... distracted. it doesn't help that a good portion of my busyness is going to various doctor appointments. i am on an every-week basis with both the regular OB and the high risk OB now, and i can't keep my schedule straight at all (i can't keep most things straight right now). i mostly feel like every time i turn around i'm going to another appointment.
monday i went to the regular OB. my doula and the hubby came with me, just to chat about our birth preferences and labor and whatnot. she took some cultures to test me for the Strep Group B virus (about 1/3 of women carry it and have to have antibiotics during labor to keep from passing it to the baby) and some other stuff. she also did a vaginal exam to check my cervix, which she said is "nice and soft," but not really dilated yet. she said 1cm, if that. which can change fairly quickly, or not. as of today i'm off the anti-contraction medication; if the meds have been doing their job, i shouldn't have been able to have the type of contractions that actually cause you to dilate. so we shall see!
yesterday i went to the high risk OB, and everything is still great with the baby. the doctor said, "this baby is about ready!" i think he's a bit lower than he was before, based on where i feel him kicking and moving (and butting his head against my cervix), though i'm not sure if he's officially "dropped" into birth position. some people say you can tell when that happens, but who knows. they're switching me to a different blood thinner medication, since the one i've been on (Lovenox) isn't safe for labor. you can't have any other kind of medication if the Lovenox is still in your system, and even though i don't *plan* to have any during labor, we all know that can change. so i'll start on Heparin instead, beginning next week. it's a two-times per day injection and one that i have to draw out of the vial myself like my old fertility meds. ugh.
otherwise everything is the same. i need to get a flu shot, since they say that's a smart thing to do to protect the baby since it's super dangerous for them to get the flu when they're so little. we have some other little odds and ends to take care of but mostly we're ready. i feel pretty good. still tired, but trying to be more active now that i'm okay with the onset of labor happening in a reasonable time. still trying to be productive at work, though the more time passes the more silly it feels because time is just dwindling before my leave.
it's gotten to the point now when i hear hopeful expectation in the voice of everyone i call on the phone, as if any call could be the "i'm in labor call." which makes me chuckle. i have to keep reminding people that we could still have another month! in theory. i really don't know what to expect. i know it could happen at any time... or not. which is hard for me to deal with. it's one thing for something less monumental to be unpredictable, but really... more warning for this kind of major life change would be appreciated. ah, well. nothing i can do but wait.
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