38/39 weeks... a waiting game

I might look happy in this picture, but I did NOT want to take a weekly progress photo! After my 38 week Dr appointment, I just felt defeated. I was still completely closed when the Dr did my cervix check... No thinning, no dilation, nada! I guess I can't be all that surprised as I haven't had any contractions or any other signs of upcoming labor. The dr talked to me about stripping my membrane next week, as long as I was at least 1cm dilated! After I looked into it, typically the membrane stripping leads to labor occurring the same day! So I guess I have something to look forward to for next week! While I was there, they told me that has flu shots to give out if I wanted one. Man, it was a nice sharp pain and another pain when the medicine was entering my body! Ugggh! Meanwhile, I'm still working, but I dropped down from working 40 hours to working 32 hours. 

     

     I was so excited for my family to come visit me from out of state! They were hoping that baby Aurora Quinn would have been here by now, but she is holed up in my belly and is quite comfortable in there! So instead, my family got to be a part of my 39 week progress picture!! My brother, his girlfriend, and their daughter (my niece) Juliette also came to visit. Little Juliette (9.5 months old) would not stop staring at my belly and she would often try to reach for it! Makes one wonder if she could sense that her cousin, and future best friend, was in there! 

     So onto my 39 week dr appointment- which was another colossal failure! I was excited for the membrane sweep that my doctor talked to me about last week! I read that it hurts a little so I was thankful that my husband was by my side for a hand to squeeze! Unfortunately I was still completely closed! I was dumbfounded! No progress still... What the heck was going on?! So another anticlimactic appointment. I got to my car and just burst into tears. I want nothing more than to meet my daughter and it's so incredibly frustrating to see nothing happening. My husband does what he can to make me feel better, but I usually just need to have my own pity party, cry it out, and be done.

     One week until my baby's due date and I'm fairly certain now that she is going to be very overdue. Let the waiting continue...

37 weeks- time goes by so slowly

     This has been a crazy week! My discomfort continues to increase and it's really affecting my mood. I wake up feeling ok but by mid-afternoon gravity has done it's work on my body- leading to super swollen legs, ankles and feet. That, coupled with the increasing pain in my hips, all lead to a general unpleasantness that makes me something much less than the "glowing, happy pregnant lady" facade!

     Also exciting and note-worthy, I went to another audition this week! I got myself into a dress, actually shaved my legs (at least, to the best of my ability) did my hair and make-up (took 1.5 hours to straighten my hair, so you know I was invested in this audition!) The audition was for a couple of Christmas shows at another theme park, so rehearsals and performances wouldn't start until after baby Aurora is born and I've recovered. The entire audition was a great experience! Aurora got her own audition number, and mom got a callback! 

     For the appointment this week, I was all alone. 😕 My husband wasn't able to get the day off and I knew nothing monumental was going to happen, so it was ok that he wasn't there. Dr. checked my cervix- still closed... I felt like screaming! I wanted SOMETHING! Even 1cm dilated, just something to suggest that labor was imminent, but NOPE! Instead, I'm fairly certain that I'm going to go past my due date. Dr. also told me that the strep test was positive. He said that 1 in 5 women are positive, and it just means that I'll be on antibiotics during labor. Nothing major. This is actually the first hiccup in my entire pregnancy. (No morning sickness, perfect blood pressure every appointment, passed first glucose test with flying colors, no food adversions, etc!) At my appointment, the doctor even remarked on how smooth of a pregnancy I've had. Even so, I'm really ready for it to be over. Time to hunker down for another week of carrying this child! 

36 weeks- final ultrasound & 1st cervix check

     It's 36 weeks!!! Just 4 incredibly long weeks until my little ones due date. Honestly, I am counting down every second, minute and day until she arrives. But while the countdown to birth goes down, my level of discomfort goes up. I am getting so big and my body feels heavy. The excess weight has really started taking it's toll on me. In addition to the edema that I mentioned last week, my hips are in constant pain. It feels like I've just spent hours riding a horse! This little girl has a few precious weeks inside me before she's gotta go! 

     The exciting part of this week is that we got our final ultrasound! I LIVE for ultrasounds- the chance to actually see my mini-me moving around inside my belly and watch her little heart beat! Just look at those little pouty lips!! 

     After the ultrasound, I saw the doctor for my first cervix check, and for a strep test. The strep test is an easy enough thing- Doctor takes a double-ended q-tip and swipes inside my vagina with one end, and then around my anus with the other end. Honestly, I was a bit nervous about this as I'm pretty self-conscience about my "lady bits". But my doctor is pretty amazing! While he was down there doing the cervix check, he swabbed and it was all over with 60 seconds! I had read on some of my mommy blogs that many women found the cervix check to be a painful experience, one women even said that she would bleed afterwards every time. My doctor mentioned that I would feel some pressure, but it was nothing more than putting a tampon in. Piece of cake! For this first check, Dr said I was closed. So, it looks like I'm settling in for another week of "joyful" pregnancy.