January - the month that our baby will be born has finally arrived! As you can see from the pregnancy ticker above, I’m nearing the 40 week mark. Which means…I am antsy for delivery day to be here; I {we} are impatiently waiting for this little girl to make her appearance. I remember being on the opposite end of that ticker and feeling that reaching 40 weeks would feel like 2 years – and while I’ve heard from so many people that the time has flown by, for me it has felt like 2 years!
I haven’t shared how things went at my last Dr. visit, which was last Wednesday. It started off with the usual urine sample and the nurse taking my blood pressure. I was told there was protein in my urine and that my blood pressure was high. An indication of preeclampsia. The appointment was off to a disappointing start. I was taken to a room where the Dr. would do a vaginal exam, as he did the previous week, to see if I had dilated at all from the last time he saw me. After the latex glove went on, the Dr. gave a verbal forewarning: “Lots of pressure...". What an understatement. This time around I found myself scooching my way up the exam table to get away from him. I kid you not. I thought he was going to tell me to come back down. As he removed his latex glove, he told me I was still closed like a clam. Not dilated at all. The cervix had made zero progress. I laid there…sore…and bummed. He did say that the baby’s head was low, which was good - and he told us that she weighed in the high 7’s / low 8’s. How a Dr. can guess a baby's weight from a two finger insertion that just barely reaches the top of the baby's head, I have no idea. He asked me if I was having contractions at least every 10 minutes. I laughed out loud. I don’t even have 10 in one day. I may get two or three and they are really mild - today they came on stronger and I felt them for a few hours but they were few and far in-between. I am feeling pelvic pressure but it’s not so bad that I feel like the baby will come down "the shoot" at any moment {by the way, still no loss of the mucus plug}. When I told all this to the Dr. he replied, “Well, that’s not good. I need you to be somewhat dilated; we need to get those contractions going; I need you to start to feel a lot of pressure”.
Anyone know where on a pregnant woman's body there’s a button that can make this all suddenly happen?
He then threw out two words of what would happen if at my next visit there was still no progress: “Induce” and “C-section”. Both of which I don’t want. Based on his guess of the baby’s weight the Dr. doesn’t want to take me past my due date {January 13}. I'll be having an ultrasound at my next visit. While I respect his professional opinion, I’m seeing another Dr. in the practice on my next visit. I’m curious what his feedback will be in comparison. I’ve been going between these two Dr’s throughout my pregnancy since I like both of them pretty equally and any one of them could be the one that actually delivers our baby.
Back to the preeclampsia. The doctor had the nurse retake my blood pressure before I left and it was back at normal. So technically I don't have it but they will closely monitor me in the upcoming week(s) to ensure that my blood pressure doesn't elevate and that I don't develop any of the other symptoms. I was advised to rest, drink lots of fluids and increase my protein intake.
My next Dr.'s appointment is on Wednesday and I'm almost certain that I have dilated. Things just feel different very different "down there" - especially after today. I'll remain optimistic that I will avoid having to have a c-section, as a vaginal delivery is my preference. Ultimately though, whatever is safest for the baby is the route I'll go.
Mommy and Daddy are anxiously awaiting this little girl's arrival - we keep telling Ilah that she can feel free to come on out at any time!! We're ready to go - we need her to be too!!
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