38 weeks

Well, again, it's been another uneventful week. A few contractions here and there, but nothing regular or too painful. Last night was really weird... I slept on my left side most of the night, but a few times when I got up (midnight, 1:15, 2:15, 4:30 - ugh!), my right hip was hurting. Very weird! Mostly I'm just ready for all of this to be over with! I'm ready to meet her already!!
At my appointment, I weighed in at 148, so down a couple pounds from last week, and my blood pressure was 120/60, pretty normal for me.
I saw Mako again this week, and we listened to the heart beat with Casey and the girls in the room - she's in the 140s - and then they left and Mako checked me. Boy was I disappointed! I'm still only at 3! It's been 5 weeks now and no change. Come on Tina, are you serious?!! She also stripped my membranes, which wasn't painful at all, and she thinks she did a good job, so now we wait and see if it does anything to help her along.
I'm not sure if Casey has lots to do at work, or what, but when I told him this, he was like, why now? You still have 2 weeks. But walking into my day care class on Thursday last week, and into Preschool today, they all are like, "You're still waiting?!" So, yeah. Still waiting. Hopefully the stripping of membranes will help me out, but until something happens, we are still playing the waiting game.

37 weeks

Well, nothing exciting this week. I went in to the hospital yesterday morning with contractions, but they turned out to be nothing at all. My nurse checked me (still at 2-3 cm), so at my appointment today, I didn't have Mako check me since I knew it would be useless.
I weighed in at 150 lbs., which was a jump from last week, and my blood pressure was 116/69. We listened to Tina's heartbeat and she was in the 150s, which is much more normal for her than the 120s she was in yesterday when I was in the hospital. I did say something in the hospital about 120s being low and the nurse said it's perfectly normal, but for Tina, it's low! She is almost ALWAYS in the 140s and 150s. There were a few times when I was in for those 4 days that she was in the 130s, but even then, it was the upper 130s. I don't think I ever saw her heart rate go below 136.
I did talk to the doctor about stripping membranes to see if that would help out any, and she said that if I wanted to do it, she would. So now I need to do a little investigating. I know it's hit or miss, so maybe it will help, and maybe it won't. That's about all for this week.... it's been pretty boring! :)

34 vs. 36 weeks

My friend Michelle is super awesome and does these comparison pictures for me. Here are two pictures with identical poses in the same top. The only difference is one is a little closer than the other. So now, you can tell that I haven't really dropped, but my belly is definitely bigger and she has taken to hanging way out front instead of towards the back of my belly.

36 weeks

I am officially off the Procardia!!!! And no more bed rest for me either! Woohoo! I got to take Jacqueline inside to Preschool for the first time in 4 weeks! The last time I was there, I sat in the car while Casey took her in before dropping Leah off at Stacy's on the Wednesday that I was admitted for 4 1/2 days. During Preschool, Leah and I went to Boulder for her monthly appointment with the Language Project, and then wandered around Kohl's to see what they had for fall/winter clothes for Jacqueline before picking her up at 11:15. Then we had lunch and the girls took an early nap because they needed to be awake about 2:30 to leave for Boulder for the Baby Doctor appointment at 3:15.
I weighed in at 145 lbs. and my BP was 118/71. I saw Katherine, the nurse practitioner, and she commented on how I am kind of dehydrated, so I really need to work on drinking more. It's hard when I'm always moving now! I also told her that Tina hasn't been moving as much lately. She said that we are shooting for 10 movements in 2 hours, and if I'm not getting that, I should drink or eat something sugary. Or just sit down for a while with water, and if need be, I can poke and prod. Casey thought this was funny because he suggested doing this and I said no. Next we listened to Tina, and she sounded really good, and Katherine also measured me, and I measured right on at 36 cm. She also told us that with my cervix as thin as it is, there isn't much to dilate, so she doesn't want us going by the 5-1-1 rule (5 minutes apart, 1 minute each, for 1 hour), but once they become regular we "better be finding care for these girls, calling, and coming in." Even if we have to be there through most of the labor, it's better to err on the side of caution because we don't want Casey delivering a baby on the side of the road. I had actually joked with Casey as we were turning into the hospital that he should start carrying a knife to cut the cord if need be and he said I can bite it. Oh my gosh that thought disgusted me! He then said that it is already inside of me, but hello! I didn't eat it to get it in there!
Now it was time to do my internal check, so Casey and the girls went back to the waiting room (I didn't really think it would be appropriate for the girls to be in the room for this), and Katherine stepped out for a couple minutes. The check didn't really bring anything new. She said I'm a "loose" 2 or 3, so she wrote down 3, and I am still 80% effaced. She also said she is sitting fairly high, which she wrote down as the -2 position.
Katherine ended the appointment by saying that she thinks Tina will come at 36 weeks 5 days, which is Friday. That would be nice because Ali and Carl would be here to help take care of the girls, or even be at the hospital if I needed/wanted an extra person.
I know it's best to keep her in as long as possible, but I am really excited and anxious for her to come. I can't wait to meet her, and with all the excitement that I've had in the last 3 weeks, it would be nice for her to grace us with her presence.
I have been experiencing occasional contractions, and I have been experiencing lots of pressure, but they haven't been doing much. Since I am off bed rest, all the movement might make something happen, which is the reason Katherine thinks Tina will come by the end of the week.

35 weeks

Wow! What a week it has been. I haven't done much recently, so I've been pretty bored. I actually got out of the house on Saturday to go to my day care class. I was very good and only got up a couple of times, but boy was it nice to be out of the house!
Well, today is 35 weeks, and I had an appointment in the clinic this afternoon. I left my sample, weighed in at 142 lbs., and my BP was 113/60. Dr. Jamroz measured me and she said I was good, so right on at 35. And then we listened to Baby Tina, who sounded good, but her heartbeat was probably only in the low 130s (she was really slow). Since she was going to do an internal check, my nurse decided that Dr. J could also do my Group B Strep swab (which is usually at 36 weeks). The internal check, that was done because I had a few contractions last night that I actually felt more than just the tightening, came back at 2 cm and 80% effaced - I haven't changed this week, so the bed rest has done it's job! She also told me that I can get up more, but that I shouldn't overdue it. I can also skip my 4 am dose of Procardia, which is exciting because lately I've been up a lot in the night between bathroom runs and taking my meds twice a night. She also said that I can use my judgment during the day and skip a dose or delay it if I am feeling good.
Casey asked if I could get a flu shot (duh! it's highly encouraged, if not mandatory, for pregnant women and families with little babies! :)), and the price through the clinic, but since they weren't sure if insurance was covering the full cost, he is going to get the 4 of us in for an appointment at his work on the 19th.
At the end of the appointment, Dr. J said that she is the doctor on call over the weekend, so if Tina is ready, she'll be there to deliver her. :)
I'm also really excited that Casey's sister, her husband and daughter are coming out on Wednesday the 13th until the 17th. He hasn't been out since 2006, so it will be great for him to be out again and for him to see the new house. Hopefully we will have a baby by then or around then!
My dad said tonight that with my luck, I'll go to term, but please help me God that it won't happen! Hopefully being up more (I've set myself to now being able to go up and down the stairs twice a day for the next few days and then seeing how I feel) will help her to push me over the mark in the next week or so. As soon as 36 weeks hits, I'm going to start walking again. I probably won't walk more than a block or two to begin with, but it would be nice if that helped.
On another note, since I can now get up more, I'll be able to go through all the baby clothes that have been washed and then I can decide what to take to the hospital for her. I can't wait to do a little shopping to buy her a new outfit to come home from the hospital. She needs her own special outfit!
One more thing.... I got a "Fox Box" in the mail today!!! That is what Casey and Jacqueline called it. Thank you so much to Michelle, and Steve for mailing it, for lending me your DS to help me pass the time! I already played Brain Age tonight, and I am very old, but I think part of it is because I was playing with a little Leah bouncing around on the bed next to me and Jacqueline dancing around with Dancing with the Stars. Oh! And I got 5 out of 5 in the Memory Race game, which puts me in 1st place! :)

*As I sit here watching Castle, I can feel my stomach tighten from contractions.... why can't they get painful?!!! Also, I think it would be really cool if my water broke on it's own!