Not Quite There Yet

I am officially on maternity leave as I head into week 39 of my pregnancy.  Brian went with me to my appointment yesterday and we found out I am now 2 1/2cm dilated, 70-80% effaced, and at a 0 station.  We've made progress but not as much as we had hoped.  Mother nature sure has a way of taking her time that's for sure, but I do feel that we will have a baby by this weekend.  I've seen some changes in my body and as you can see from the picture above, Emily has dropped a little more which has made me start to waddle.  Random people on the street are now asking when I'm due and then proceed to freak out when I tell them next Wednesday is my due date.  I'm not on bed rest people!  Most give me a look as if the baby is going to drop out right before their eyes, it's hilarious. 

Maternity leave started on Monday and I feel much better and more prepared now that I have cleaned up my house and finished packing that pesky hospital bag.  My official uniform while at home are pajama bottoms and a tank top.  It is wonderful not having to dress up mostly because almost all of the clothes in my wardrobe have stopped fitting properly and I am not about to go out and buy anything else maternity. 

So far there have been no contractions and only mild cramping.  Brian is going out of his mind and is on his last thread of patience.  We promise though that as soon as anything happens, we will notify all family and friends.

Getting Closer

It is week 38 and I have just gotten back from my OB appointment. Looks like we've made progress which only means that Emily is one day closer to getting here. YAY! I am currently 2cm dilated, 60% effaced and at a -1 station. I know, I know, what does that mean.

Let's start with cervical dilation, which is the opening of the entrance of the uterus during childbirth. There are 4 phases of cervical dilation:

• Latent phase: 0-3cm (the phase gone unnoticed for most women)
• Active labor: 4-7cm (the phase where contractions begin and intensify, epidural anyone?)
• Transition: 8-10cm (the phase where you want to be put out of your misery)
• Complete: 10cm (it's time to push)

Right now I am 2cm dilated which the doctor said was excellent. According to her, it is easier to progress during labor when you are already dilated to 3cm when you begin. Some women wait 24 hours at the start of labor to get to this point, so I think I'm doing pretty good. Now, don't get too crazy happy though, as she told me this does not indicate when labor will start. I could be 2cm for another 2 weeks, there is no telling what the body will do.

Moving on...effacement is the thinning of the cervix which begins before or during early labor. Effacement is measured in percentages from 0-100. The way it is usually described is, the cervix is like a bottleneck and it slowly begins to shorten and pulls up into the uterus making way for baby's head to push through. I am a little more than halfway at 60%.

And finally we have the stations of labor. The stations refer to how high the baby's head is in the pelvis. The stations are pretty important because it lets the doctor know how far the baby is descending into the birth canal. The stations are measured from -5 to +5. A 0 station is when the baby has dropped, +3 is when a woman feels the urge to push and +5 is when the head is crowning. The following links have some good visuals (animated) as to what the stations look like.

This is a good description and picture at this link: http://atyourcervix.blogspot.com/2006/08/pelvic-stations-in-labor.html

This link has a little video (animation) that shows the baby descending:
http://www.indexedvisuals.com/scripts/ivstock/pic.asp?id=130N-304

Oh yeah and I also got that pesky flu shot at this OB appointment. I never had one before but can honestly say that it wasn't that bad, I was expecting a more painful shot. I also learned that because I will be breastfeeding, that the baby will be getting immunized and she gets the antibodies from the breast milk, which is wonderful as she can't get the flu shot at such a young age and we are heading right into flu season.

So far no contractions only mild cramping so I still think she's going to make her due date. My doctor said my body is showing signs of going into labor on it's own, but if we are overdue, we will be talking about induction. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

Week 37 progress

This is week 37 of a 40 week pregnancy and I had my appointment yesterday. I am on rotation with the doctors at the practice I go to so I had my second internal examination with a doctor I had just met. Boy was she rough! The last exam was uncomfortable but this time it actually hurt. It felt like she shoved her whole arm in there. Ouch! All the pain was worth it to hear that I am now 1cm dilated, which means we are making progress. Emily is still moving around all the time and quickly running out of room to play. If I were to take a guess, I think she'll either make her due date or come a couple of days early. Brian and I are both really excited for her arrival but I do have to say that I would rather her come in October so I can make her really cute Halloween birthday parties. How exciting would that be? Plus, our first year anniversary is on September 27th and I would hate for a shared event date (is that too vain)?

My test came back positive for Group B strep, so when I go into labor I will have to be hooked up to an IV with antibiotics so the baby doesn't get sick. Here is a link with more information on what Group B Strep is: http://www.dhpe.org/infect/strepb.html

I haven't received any flu shots, but I'm sure the hospital will be administering them on my next appointment. Contractions haven't been felt yet or at least not that I can tell, so not really any pain to talk about other than my disappointment that my heartburn has not gone away since Emily's dropping. Heartburn was a symptom that was supposed to go away once the baby dropped, or so I thought. Maybe she hasn't dropped enough yet. What do you think?

Let the Coundown Begin

It is now the month of September and I am 36 weeks pregnant. Emily's estimated due date (EDD) is September 30th, so I am now anxiously awaiting her arrival, which could literally happen any day now. At our last growth ultrasound the doctor approximated her weight at 5lbs., and I feel her getting heavier everyday. I don't think my belly can stretch any farther and it hurts when she moves now, which is all the time. I am gearing up for a very active child.



Yesterday I had my 36 week appointment with my OB and I am happy to report that all looks well. We are measuring as we should and Emily's heartbeat was very strong. I got swabbed for the Group B Strep test usually given this far along in pregnancy, and I had my first internal examination. I have not started dilating yet, but my cervix is starting to thin. The doctor was pleased at where my body was at and said we should be progressing as the weeks go by. She then brought up the important news about the swine flu vaccinations. Apparently, all pregnant women are to receive this vaccination as well as the regular flu vaccine because of the recent swine flu breakout. Although I am at the end of my pregnancy I still have to receive these vaccines because I will be breastfeeding; needless to say I am not excited about this turn of events, but there have been more cases of the swine flu in our area and I would do anything to stay healthy for the sake of my baby.



The news I was devastated to hear about is the precautions the hospital is taking to combat the spreading of the swine flu. It is likely that in the near future the hospital will close the Maternity Ward to visitors, which means our parents will not be able to see their first grandchild until after we come home. I'm really sad about this because I always envisioned the whole family coming to see her for the first time at the hospital. I was also planning on having my mom in the delivery room with Brian and I. God knows we both will need the moral support. I'm just hoping that if this is the case, that Brian will be able to pull himself together and not freak out. I'm usually the more calm and collective of us and I can just picture him fainting as I'm getting ready to have our first child. Time will only tell....