i should probably be surprised that i'm still pregnant, given all the worries about premature labor and whatnot... but i'm not. somehow i had a feeling that was exactly how it would pan out.
i did really think that he might arrive this past weekend, though, i'll admit. yesterday i went to the OB for my 39 week appointment and she, too, was a little surprised that we're still hanging around waiting. but she said again that first babies are often stubborn like that. i'm still just about 2cm dilated. ho hum. funniest part was that i seem to have lost six pounds since last week! the temperature dropped significantly a couple days ago and the fluid overload in my legs and feet seems to have mostly disappeared, so i'm assuming it has to do with that. i actually keep staring at my feet because i don't recognize them... they look so bony and skinny to me!
i had a bit of a freakout about an hour after my appointment when i started bleeding. not brown spotting like i've had after some of my appointments (when she's used the speculum and whatnot), but serious bleeding like i got my period. my first thought was, the elusive "bloody show" that people talk about! but quite quickly i remembered that the bloody show is supposed to be mostly mucus tinged with blood and not very heavy. this was pretty heavy. so i tried to remain calm but couldn't help worrying that something was wrong. i called the OB and she said it could just be from the cervical exam she did and that if it stopped she wasn't worried. i called the high risk doctor to get his input and he said the same thing. he said especially since i'm a bit dilated and closer to labor that i'm more likely to bleed from an exam. since neither of them were concerned i calmed down once the bleeding slowed. it was mostly brown spotting by last night, and a little more this morning, but that seems to be it.
so here we are... 39 weeks and a day, and i actually feel better than i did last week. maybe i'm just adjusting to the constant bodily changes i'm experiencing. i don't know what to make of it. i started taking evening primrose oil, which a lot of people believe helps induce labor, and have also been doing some "perineal massage" with it: basically massaging and stretching the skin in between the vagina and anus. i know is weird but some people (including my OB) really think it helps prepare the body for delivery and avoid the need for an episiotomy. the hubby and i are both really, really ready for this baby to get here and i don't think there's much more we can do to prepare. i wish there were more clues about when it will actually happen, but i know this is just how it goes.
i didn't go to work today mostly because i didn't feel like it, not because i wasn't feeling well enough. i will probably go tomorrow if i feel the same as i do today. other than some occasional contractions and pressure/pain i really feel fine. maybe it's the extra sleep i can accumulate over a long weekend, but my body is just not giving me any flashing warning lights that something significant is about to happen. sigh.
the plan going forward: my OB still thinks he could arrive at any time, but is aware that there's no guarantee about that. she said if i'm still pregnant next week, she'll do something at my 40 week appointment called "stripping the cervical membranes." it's basically separating the amniotic fluid bag from the side of the uterus, which releases hormones that can bring on labor. she said it only works if you're right on the cusp of labor. seems to be a crapshoot from what i've read online. so that would be the 40 week plan. if i end up going another week, she'll induce me for real. she asked if the high risk doc had talked about induction, because apparently they often bring it up and even think about inducing early. they haven't said anything to me, i think because they're also expecting the baby to make an appearance soon. as much as i'm anxious for him to arrive, i do want to avoid medical induction as long as possible. so i suppose there's nothing to do except... wait.
i know the end is in sight... even if we end up having to get to stage two of the doc's plan and i do have to be medically induced, that will be two weeks from now, at most. two weeks, in the long run, is not a long time... especially when i've already been pregnant for nine months AND it took us almost two years to get pregnant in the first place. but still every day is starting to feel like an eternity. i am trying to stay positive, though, and to take advantage of these last few days (?) before life completely changes. sleeping in is really, really nice...
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