Pregnancy Update: 40 weeks!

Okay folks, I'm 40 weeks pregnant today! That means Brenson should be preparing to make his debut any day now!

Here's how I'm looking these days (this was actually yesterday before church):

I have no comparison belly pic this week because at this point with Brianna, she was almost a week old :-).

I'm really taking things one day at a time these days. Some days this past week were harder than others, mainly due to lack of sleep. I just can't get comfortable! I generally sleep well for about 3 hours, then my hips and back start hurting due to increased pressure and I toss and turn for several hours then just get up. If I'm really tired that day, I move a lot slower than normal. Brianna will say, "C'mon Momma! Let's go!" Haha . . . I usually tell her that Momma is doing the best she can (this is mainly when I'm trying to get up from off the floor or out of the chair to chase her where ever she is going).

Typically, our appointments with Dr. N have been first-thing Monday mornings. Today, however, it was at 11:30am because Dr. N had a scheduled C-section, and after what happened last week I wanted to wait for him. When I checked in at about 11:25, Tara told me that he was gone on a delivery and they weren't sure when he'd be back. I told her I would just wait on him, and we didn't end up seeing him until about 12:40pm! I always have conflicted feelings about waiting so long for him. I love that he drops everything to go deliver his patients (because I want him to do that for me!), but the wait can get a little tedious at times. I was happy we waited, though, because I was really able to talk to him and ask questions and get the information I wanted.

My blood pressure was 130 over 80. The nurse wasn't concerned with this number, but this is quite a bit higher than mine normally runs. Of course, she was asking me how last week's appointment went while taking it (because she was gone last week), so that may have had something to do with it :-). I didn't gain any weight (lost just a few ounces, actually), so my overall weight gain is still 30 pounds. I was happy about that!

When Dr. N came in, he also asked me about last week's appointment, and I told him straight up (albeit, nicely) that it wasn't a good experience. He apologized for what happened, and I could tell he wasn't thrilled with how I was treated. He did an ultrasound of Brenson - and after discovering that his head is still floating - said he was going to check me but to be prepared for no progress again. Sure enough, my cervix is still very high and very closed. Brenson still looks healthy, was moving, breathing, and had a strong heartbeat, but his fluid was a little low. Dr. N was not alarmed, but said we will need to monitor it pretty closely.

After checking me, Dr. N told me to get dressed and he would come back in so we could talk. When he came back into the room, he basically said that I'm not induce-able yet and that we just need to keep waiting. NOT what I wanted to hear! However, I think he's a good doctor and I trust him. He said that if we try to induce before Brenson's head is engaged, there are too many ways for things to not progress properly and it would likely result in a C-section. He didn't think we were ready to "cut him out" yet, and neither do I.

HOWEVER, Dr. N did bring up concerns that if I get too far along or if Brenson gets too big without any progress or engagement happening, we might have to think seriously about a C-section. We have about a week or so before that needs to be a serious consideration though (provided that fluid levels remain okay), especially since this is baby #2 and things can progress quickly.

At this point, I asked how big Dr. N thought Brenson might be, and he said, "Well, let's just check." He had me lay back down on the table, and he did another ultrasound! He warned me that weight estimates are very hard to get accurate at this point, but he guesses that Brenson is about 9 pounds. YIKES! He certainly feels bigger than Brianna ever did, so I personally feel like this is pretty accurate. Plus, two weeks ago his weight estimate was about 8 pounds so that is right on track with a 1/2 pound a week weight gain (which is what "the books" say is average for an infant at this gestational age).

Right now, we have another appointment set for Thursday morning. This is to check Brenson's fluid and do a non-stress test to make sure that he's doing okay. Dr. N will also check my cervix again then. If I am running too low on fluid or Brenson is in distress, we'll do whatever is necessary to get him out at that time. If my cervix is finally dialating, we'll probably induce. If everything looks the same, we'll wait a few more days. Of course, there is always the possibility that I'll suddenly go into labor on my own before then (Tuesday is a full moon!) We are praying that labor happens on its own, but we will see.

Chris and I were both disappointed when leaving Dr. N's office. We're just so ready to meet our little man! I was trying gear myself up mentally for the possibility of a whole week more of pregnancy, so I was very quiet in the car. Brianna kept asking me, "Momma happy?" Sweet baby . . . she could sense that we were let down. However, I'm good now. I just had to take a bit to process everything (this is not how I expected things to go today!).

I know there are lots of things that can be done to bring on labor, and we have been doing all we can! I'm not taking any herbal concoctions or using castor oil, but we are pretty much doing everything else.  I'm walking, rocking, squatting, eating spicy foods, etc. I got a pedicure. We even looked up pressure points that supposedly bring on labor, and Chris has been giving me massages using those. BUT, I'm still hanging in here all big and huge and pregnant . . . trying so very hard to be patient!