Never mind

I bet I'll go into labor tomorrow afternoon....

39w5d

Well, stuff is definitely happening. Just not in a productive way, yet, I guess.

Contractions still, mostly irregular, but some lately are giving me a little hope.

Tried self-induction method number 4 yesterday -- Mexican food. Unfortunately, I also wanted to see the Packers lose, so we ended up at Sarna's. I highly recommend never eating there unless you are doing a burger or ap. The artichoke dip was fantastic, but it was ordered because THERE WERE NO NACHOS!!! Seriously, what kind of sports bar doesn't have nachos? So for dinner I ordered their "chipotle burrito." It was awful. No heat whatsoever. I finally got a hold of the waitress and asked for something to spice it up, and doused it in Tabasco. Not any tastier, and by that point, very cold.

Also, then spent all night up with unquenchable heartburn. Lovely.

Running out of things to do to encourage her to come out on time. But we must be getting close, if for no other reason that today was the second time this week that I sat in the shower until all the hot water was gone, something I never do as I like my showers lukewarm.

Two more days? cross your fingers, please.

Ok, she can officially come out now

I just made the final payment on my student loan, which I promised myself I would do before the baby was born.

(of course now I have to start putting it into a 529, so I suppose in the long run it's a wash, but it is a moral victory at least)

39w4d

Three days til baby?

Just got back from the Dr, and things are somewhat more promising. We had a bunch of contractions yesterday, at a fairly steady interval for a while. Dumb me, I didn't really realize that's what they were, since I was expecting pain and such. Welcome to first time motherhood. Sadly, they petered out by evening.

But today we learned that the head is engaged, which is a good start. Cervix still somewhat posterior, although not as much as before. No effacement or dilation yet.

Had a brief blood pressure scare again -- my first reading was 147 over 98. We waited a few minutes and did it again and it was 120 over 78. No idea what that was.

Today is all about getting some work done in between these contractions. I've given up on hoping for her arrival on her due date, but am still rooting for her to make it before her next dr's appointment, on Wed the 5th. If we end up going to that one, we schedule the induction then, which would likely be around the 13th or 14th.

39w3d

still nothing

Smartie tried to poison me with oregano last night to see if it would help, but no dice (To be honest, I'm not sure if he really put that much in the sauce -- I didn't taste any. But he swears he did).

I feel pretty good when I sit, but it hurts to stand now, too much pressure on the pubic bone.

Otherwise, everything is exactly the same, other than I have absolutely no appetite.

That, and I could really use a nap. But no surprise there, I guess.

My firefox updated itself last night, and now I can't use it. I turned off my firewall, took it out and reinstalled -- nothing. So now I'm on IE. I hate it.

I am a little more irritable these days, I guess. But I don't think that's a sign of anything other than I'm human.

Doctor tomorrow morning. Maybe he'll have some good news.

Ha!

From my inbox, from the hospital:

"Your due date is probably sometime this week. If it comes and goes without your going into labor, don't be discouraged. Remember that a "due date" is just the midpoint of the four weeks in which your baby is considered full term.

As you reach week 40 of your pregnancy, you may feel as though you've been pregnant forever, and would like to give birth to this baby today. It's normal to be excited, nervous, and irritable all at once. You may be sleeping lightly, and, as many women report, having vivid dreams. These late pregnancy dreams are a natural response to being on the verge of so much change, and any worries you may have about labor, childbirth, and becoming a parent.

What causes labor to begin is still a mystery, and therefore difficult to predict. Hormones secreted by the baby may set off true labor contractions, while at the same time the mother's body produces less of the hormone progesterone, which slows down the function of the placenta. But why and how those changes occur is not yet known. Meanwhile, the obstetric team here at the hospital will be keeping a close eye on you and your baby as you wait for labor to begin, to be sure that you are both well."

Then they tell me to have sex to induce labor. I thought we learned yesterday that it doesn't work...

39w2d

Nothing.

I've decided to stop going to webmd's third trimester message board, since all the women due in 3 or 4 weeks are comparing dilation and progress and whining about only having a centimeter when they are practically full term. I want to start a thread saying "So, who's scheduled to go any second and has NO SIGNS?!?!" Bunch of backhanded braggarts.

Today I even feel less labor-y than yesterday. Yesterday there were at least some weird tightening things going on, in some cases as often as 4 an hour. Today, nothing.

And I have a cold. Fantastic.

On the bright side, regardless of what happens, I only have three more days of work after today. Too bad I have about three weeks more work to actually get done in those three days.

Is everyone this cranky in the last week?

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Looks like we can throw that one out the window...

We were told at baby class that the new average pregnancy is 39 weeks long -- the 40 week thing has been brought down a week, probably because so many women are having preterm births that are viable that weren't before.

Today, at 39w1d, the Buddha is officially above average.

She's also amazingly heavy, and seems to have very little interest in coming out, despite how obviously uncomfortable we both are.

I lost 6 lbs overnight last Wed, and it still seems to be gone, and I'm not sure why. They said you may lose weight in the last couple of weeks, but I'm not sure they meant it like that. But the baby seems content, so I'm fairly sure there's nothing wrong. Maybe it's a weird way of the body getting ready for labor.

Maybe I need to stop examining everything, trying to figure out if it's the body getting ready for labor.

Since we are in "any day now" mode, expect at least a post a day until she gets here. That way, when I skip a day, you'll know it's on.

One Really Weird Thing

I couldn't find my maternity pants this morning (yes, I only have one pair), so I tried my old pants and they still fit.

God bless low riders...

38 weeks 3 days

Smartie and I just got back from one of the last few dr.'s appointments a little while ago. Still no progress on any front. I'm starting to worry we might go over, which I am really not looking forward to. In fact, we had the "when to induce" talk just in case.

The idea of possible being pregnant another 4 weeks makes me cringe.

So many baby body parts stick out now that I got a little worried and asked him to check to see if I still had enough fluid. I do -- we just have a really stretchy baby who is taking full advantage of every inch of room she can find. She's literally stretched from pelvis to top of uterus, and loving every second of it. Perhaps too much....come out already, baby!

Today, I'm looking for all of the old wives tales of things that can start your labor going. I'm bored of waiting, and want to do something more active. I want to drink raspberry leaf tea and go for long walks and all of that.

Mostly, I just want this over so I can sleep for an hour or two. If nothing else, I've learned she is not a morning person. For the second week now she's registered low heart rate when we first start listening, and then it goes up to her normal 140's once she's "woken up." I've noticed in the last month or two that she likes to sleep until 9 am, and is unhappy with any movement earlier than that. Maybe because she also enjoys keeping me up until the wee hours of morning.

I'm opening a Baby Pool in the comments -- we have 11 days left officially, and up to 25 days possible (I was told they'd induce sometime in the 41st week if she wasn't progressing, so at the very latest she'll be out by December 16th.

Winner gets beer of their choice once we make it back to the bar post partum.

Homestretch?

I went to the dr today and the blood pressure is back down and weight has dropped a little, so no induction necessary. I'd be lying if I didn't say part of me was disappointed, since I feel like I've been pregnant for about 10 years now. Now that we're full term, I find myself thinking "Come ON already!!" pretty often.

So I have two more target dates before her actual due. One is next Thursday, since I've been convinced ever since I got pregnant that she's coming out on Thanksgiving (my grandma asked if that meant she'd be our little butterball). The other is the 29th (the following Thursday), simply because up until three weeks ago I thought that was Thanksgiving so I might have imprinted it onto my brain.

I can only assume at this point, since I've been so convinced that I will go early, that I will actually be one of those women who are two weeks late.

In non-baby news, Daunte is the Raider's QB this week. The only real difference I think this makes is that maybe people will be interested enough to buy some tickets and avoid the game blackout. Although $10 says if we get blacked-out, Childress is gone after the game. I think management would be willing to wait until the end of the year in spite of a lot of offenses, but once you lose your tv spot you've lost the entire profitability of your team, and that requires immediate action.

Stay away from my kid

Smartie and I have spent a lot of time lately talking about kid tv. It got worse when we got our first Baby Einstein DVD, and I was befuddled that it said ages 6 months to 2 years. We've discussed blocking the Disney channel, since it really is nothing more than 30 minute commercials for children's toys, and instead looking at things like Sprout -- although even that has its dangers.

Obviously, we aren't the only ones thinking this way.

Blogger "Two Knives" has started Parents for Ethical Marketing, which includes the blog Corporate Babysitter.

On top of other good information, they have an announcement for Buy Nothing Day -- the day after Thanksgiving. Although I'm probably not buying anything anyway, so I guess we're cool.

I've signed up for the email alerts, so let's see how it progresses.

Yes, Still Here and Still Pregnant

Had my father and step mother up for the weekend, which was a lot of fun. Trying to get all of the last minute details taken care of.

Sunday (Veteran's Day) made it official -- we are now full-term.

I've actually been feeling a lot better these last couple of weeks. Which is strange, since my blood pressure has shot up a significant amount in the last two weeks as well. So when I go in on Thursday, we may have to have the "going early" talk.

Next Saturday I am either having my very last baby shower, or a baby. We don't know which yet.

We had a shower at Smartie's office last week as well. Violet now has so many things that we've had to start storing large items on the sun porch, which we've jokingly started calling "Violet's spare room." Her nursery is now jam packed, and the porch has her two strollers (one umbrella, one suv), a baby glider, a walker, etc...

No baby has ever had so much stuff.

Lots of little twinging and such, but not expecting any action this week unless they make me go.

Are we there yet?

36 weeks, 2 days. 26 days to go.

The week by weeks all say she should be gaining another 2 lbs by the time this is over. I don't know how or where.

It's hard to sleep

Everything hurts.

And I feel really crampy. And cranky.

On the bright side, my father and stepmother are coming up this weekend. Not quite sure how to entertain them, since I don't really want to move at all if I can help it, but I'll think of something.

Got a breast pump on the black market (don't ask). Other than nursing bras I'm all set. Even the nursery is done:


Full term on Sunday. But she's not allowed to come out until the 29th, or our schedule goes completely out the window.

Which I suppose is something we would need to get used to.

So tired....

Amused by this, though.

what you missed if you weren't in St Paul last night

The camera loves the mayor, but seems to love me not as much...