41 WEEKS!

Wow, I never really thought I would go over due. At 37 weeks it's so exciting to be term knowing that the baby could safely come at any time, but five weeks past that and it gets to be a big nerve wracking. I seriously questioned my body's ability to expel this baby.

Sunday was our friend's son, Ivan, birthday and we went to his party at Chuck-E-Cheese. I was feeling very tired and sore and ran down. We ended up staying longer than we had anticipated so by the time we got home I just crashed.

Monday I got up a bit early and ran to WIC for my monthly appointment and to pick up new checks. Then we had an NST that took a very long time since the baby wasn't cooperating. After lots of cold water she moved around and passed her test. I still have plenty of fluid so she's nice and comfy in there. Right after we headed to my Dr. appointment and saw the nurse practitioner. Weight is still 204 lbs and blood pressure still a bit high but my blood test for Pre-Eclampsia came back normal. Her internal exam was very rough and painful and she said I was only 1 cm dilated and my cervix was still really high. I left in pain and very discouraged.

Tuesday I was still feeling terrible. We did some grocery shopping but that was about it.

Wednesday I was getting increasingly sore and lethargic. I made some peanut butter oatmeal cookies because it's the only thing that sounded good to eat.

Thursday I woke up very nervous because my Dr. had mentioned induction if I wasn't progressed by this appointment. I had prepared myself mentally to be sent to the hospital to have the baby that afternoon. Our NST was first and everything went well. At the Dr. my weight was still 204 lbs, blood pressure was ok. She said I was 2 cm dilated and my cervix was still high. She did yet another stretch and sweep that was very painful and scheduled me for induction on Sunday night at 8pm if the baby didn't come before then. She knew that a natural birth was very important to me and was trying her best to let me go as far as she could on my own. That night I was crampy, scared, and still discouraged.

Friday I felt really awful like I was getting over a nasty flu. I had chills and aches and a headache. I was really down and tired and generally miserable. I stayed in bed for most of the day. I did lose some plug that was blood tinged, but figured it was from the sweep on the previous day.

Saturday I woke up determined to have a good day. Mother and I went over to Michelle's house for most of the day to hang out with her and Charlotte. Steven was off racing the tournament all weekend so I needed to stay busy or I knew I would get really anxious. All of us girls went to get some ice cream, then perused JoAnne's Fabric for a while, and came back to Michelle's house where she made us a lovely dinner. That evening I worked on crochetting another hat.

Sunday morning at 4:30 I woke up to a strong cramp. I thought it was just because my bladder was full as it had happened many times before. But when I used the restroom I lost a big peice of plug and had my bloody show!! I'll admit I got very excited, but still was skeptical since I knew I had to go to the hospital that night to be induced. Throughout the day I had contractions that were light but growing in intensity and getting closer together. Steven was at the track all day again and I kept waiting for my water to break so I could tell him to come home but it never happened. Auntie Anne came over to visit with Mom and the two of them were watching me like a hawk. I stayed busy cleaning and packing for the hospital and baking more cookies. I knew it was important to keep my mind off of my nervousness and that moving around would help the baby descend. Finally at about 7 when we were planning to leave for the hospital, my contractions were close enough together and strong enough that I would have had to go in anyway. What irony! Talk about waiting until the last minute baby girl. :)

The rest I'll leave for the next post about my birth story.

I didn't take a belly picture before leaving for the hospital. Last week's picture was taken on Thursday anyway so I didn't look much different. Baby was still sitting pretty high.