It's Time!!! (a.k.a. 40-weeks,-but-who-cares-it-doesn't-matter-anymore)

It's time! *Said in the best "Steel Magnolias" rendition I can do.*

I had my 40-week appointment today (even though I'm not officially 40 weeks until tomorrow).  It started out with an ultrasound to see about how big he is.  According to their measurements, he's about 7.5 pounds.  But she said she had a really hard time getting measurements because he's SO low.  The ultrasound was actually pretty uncomfortable because she kept pressing really hard and really low.  And I couldn't tell what anything was on the screen.  She said he's so cramped in there and doesn't have much room to move.

Then we went to a back room with a recliner and couch for the non-stress test.  I was hooked up to monitors for about 25 minutes to measure contractions and his heartbeat.  Nothing to report, just that everything looked good.

THEN I had my exam.  I'm not gonna lie, it hurt so )(#&T%(* bad!  :P  It felt like the worst cramp in my life.  Holy cow.  Omg.  I'm still in pain, lol.  She said I'm 2 cm now (yay progress!).  She said nothing about effacement or station, which I couldn't focus to even ask because I forgot.  She went right into the details from my two previous fiascos from the morning...

"Non-stress test looks great!  Nothing of concern there.  Now..." She sat down on the stool in front of me and was looking through papers.  "Your amniotic fluid levels are pretty low.  Right now it should be about 15, but yours is about half that...yours is at 7.  And your placenta is starting to age.  Basically, there's not a whole lot left for baby to thrive on.  So I think it's best we get him out as soon as we can.  No rush, of course, but I don't want to wait.  It's better to get this done now rather than later.  I'm thinking Wednesday.  So you go ahead and get dressed and I will go call Labor & Delivery to see what their schedule looks like."

!?!?!?!?!  Ok!  At that point I think I was just in shock because it was starting to hit me that this is REAL!  She came back in and handed me, what she called, my "golden ticket".  It's a gold piece of cardstock with my instructions.  I have to call tomorrow at 6 p.m. to make sure there's a bed open, and I'm scheduled to be there at 8 p.m. to start my induction.  She said they'll start me on pitocin and that I should expect to deliver sometime Wednesday morning.  So that told me that L&D had a slight scheduling conflict, which is why I'm going in tomorrow night.  I will be SO bummed if they get an influx of people and I have to wait!  But it shouldn't be an issue.

So Baby Kirby's ETA is Wednesday, June 15th, 2011!!!  The doctor left the room and I started crying.  Kyle and I are down to 24 hours by ourselves!!!! :( It really is sad to me.  Yes, I'm excited to meet our little guy and I'm sure I won't look back (at least for a while...I'll be pretty mesmerized for a while!), but our lives are about to change.  In 24 hours.  My parents are coming over this evening to help us clean, repair, do last minute things.  Then my husband and I are having a little date night!  It'll be our last one, just the two of us, being able to do what we want and come and go as we please.  I'm not gonna lie, I'm FREAKING OUT.  Like, scared to death!  I don't handle pain well, I hate needles, and I'm a big whimp.  Oh yeah, and I woke up at 3 a.m. today and worked on lessons for next year.  So I'm tired and overwhelmed.  I think that means it's time for a nap!

I will take my computer, but it's dumb and I probably won't be able to update from the hospital.  You better believe I'm going to try, though!  ;)  If you don't hear from me from the hospital in the middle of the night tomorrow, the next time I post there will be pictures of our son at the end of the week!  Ahhh!!!

Until next time...

39.5 Weeks

We are down to 4 days, people.  Give or take.

My appointment on Tuesday was disappointing, to say the least.  Not much has changed.  Still pretty much the same.  She said I'm super-soft and that I'm doing just fine and am right where I should be.  She encouraged me by saying she is very pleased and that I'm doing everything right.  Whatever that means.  But when she said I haven't progressed any, I'll admit I got extremely sad and frustrated.  I was in a bad mood the rest of the night and cried.  I don't know why.  Stupid pregnancy hormones.  I know there's nothing I can do if he's not ready, but I just felt like it was my fault for some reason.  Dumb, I know.  But I woke up the next morning feeling SO much better.  I went out to lunch with a few friends, went shopping, and got a haircut.  I treated myself to some new nail polish.  I figure I'll wear it at some point this summer.  It's very daring for me.  Usually, I don't go for the "wild" colors, but I couldn't help it.  It intrigued me and I caved in.  It's very exciting.  The color is called "Tiffany Imposter."



So aside from not making much progress (which I keep telling myself I'm already so far along...there's not too much more my body can do to get ready), the doctor told me what's up for next week.  I go back Monday morning at 11:00 for a growth ultrasound (they'll do some measurements to get a weight prediction...I'm pretty nervous) and a non-stress test.  The test is just where I get hooked up to some monitors for like half an hour or something where they keep track of his heartbeat, his movements, see how he reacts during contractions, and measure my contractions.  Then I'll go to meet with the midwife where she'll check me again and we will talk about scheduling an induction. 

The good news is that the baby will be here within the next week no matter what.  So at least the end is in sight!  I was hoping to go on my own, but I honestly don't care.  People get induced ALL the time and it's fine.  My sister was induced 6 days after her due date and had a great labor and delivery.  I know countless other people  who get through with no problems or anything.  So I'm going in with the attitude that it'll all be over soon and this is just the route we have to go.  And I don't know any different, so who cares.  The majority of first-time moms go overdue, so it's not like this is anything new or a risky procedure or anything.  And by no means am I picking on anyone or trying to be mean, but it really irks me when people act like induction is the end of the world.  They make you feel like, "Omg, you have to get that baby out before you have to be induced!  I hope you don't have to go through that!  Do everything you can to try to get that baby out naturally.  Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that."  Or they just look at you, like they want to say something but they don't want to discourage you.  At least they have the decency to keep their mouth shut.  Guess what people, I can see it in your face.  I'm not dumb.  And when you've had the issues I've had for the last 9 months, don't take away the joy that I have of finally getting this baby out.  Some bodies just don't adhere to that "perfect" labor and delivery story.  At this point, I don't care if I have to be knocked out and have a c-section.  Now of course, that's NOT my first choice and I hope that doesn't have to happen.  But if it's what's best for me and baby, then by all means just get him out and do what you have to do.  I don't care anymore.  Seriously.  (Can we tell I'm a bit fired up and on edge?)  Once again, I'm not calling out any one person.  I've just had SO many comments and what not and I'm tired of it.  This whole thing is scary enough as it is.  There's no reason to make someone scared or upset when it's a scary situation already.  Ok, I think I'm done.  :P  Thank you for letting me vent.  I promise I still love everyone.  ;)

So yeah, that's about it at this point!  I ate spicy food yesterday, did a lot of walking (good lord, I was SO swollen...my feet HURT, like tingly, stabbing hurt), and even invested in some Evening Primrose Oil supplements.  I figured what the heck.  I felt GREAT yesterday (like no pain or symptoms or anything), but today I woke up and felt like crap a few steps out of bed.  I'm constantly crampy (before today, the cramps come and go throughout the day, but today I've had them every second) and my lower back is kind of achy.  My stomach is also kinda messed up and I can barely eat without feeling like throwing up.  I took a 1.5 hour nap.  Other than that, I've just been sitting around, curled up with a pillow trying to take my mind off the pain.  It's not unbearable, but if you're a girl, you know this feeling I'm talking about.  That one or two days a month where you feel miserable and crampy and bloated and sick to your stomach and tired and achy.  Yep.  It's like that. 

It's a good, yet scary, feeling knowing that next week is it.  No more "just me".  No more sleeping whenever/however long I want.  No more just hopping in the car and driving to Hobby Lobby when I get bored.  No more making my own plans and just rolling with the punches.  I pray every single night that when I see his face and hold him that my world really will change and that I will be excited to be a mommy.  Right now I'm not.  The only reason I want him here is a very selfish reason - to feel better.  I swear I'm the world's most horrible mom already.  But I'm sure everything will be fine and I'll forget about me once I see him.  :)

Until next time...

38.5 Weeks!

I'm a little behind this week!  I've been going crazy trying to get the house ready and last-minute things finished up.  I've also been up to the school each day for a little while this week because today was the last day of school.  I ALMOST cried, but I held it together!  My kids are just so sweet and it's so neat to reflect on how far they've come.  They make me proud.

So there's actually not a whole lot to report.  At this point it's just a waiting game.  A very anxious one at that!  It's very emotional because it's just hit me that life will never, ever be the same.  I can't be so independent anymore.  That's a harder pill to swallow than one might think.  But I'm eager to start this new adventure and slowly, but surely, getting excited.

So my appointment this week went pretty well.  I am 1 cm dilated, 90% effaced, and +1 station.  Let me see if I can find a picture of what that means, because a lot of people have been asking...


Wow, that's a really large image.  And looking at it is somewhat...painful.  It explains why my hips hurt so bad!  Goodness!  She said he's really low, so this gives me a good idea of what she's talking about.  And I guess most people at this point are somewhere around -1 or -2.  I had one person tell me they weren't ever at +1 until they were in active labor.  So who knows...it's also just another number.  She DID tell me, "I have to admit, I'm really surprised I didn't see you in the hospital this past weekend!  I thought for sure you'd be one of the ones I saw."  To which my response was, "I wish you had seen me..."  She told me she would be very surprised if I make it to my due date.  It literally could be any day.

I've been having some contractions and lots of hip pain and just random pains.  Some of them HURT.  I wish my water would just break so I would know, for sure, to head to the hospital.  Timing contractions is actually a lot harder than you think, especially when your back is constantly hurting.  It gets hard to decipher the intense pain from the pain that's already there.  The doctor thinks I'm already in early labor, which can last for days.

Kyle asked (because he knew I wanted to know) if there were any "tricks" that can throw people into labor.  Her first thing was DON'T drink castor oil!  She said it rarely works and it's a horrible way to go.  It basically makes you sick, out both ends.  Very violently sick.  I told her that was no problem.  That was the one thing I would NOT try.  She said spicy food (particularly Thai or Mexican), cleaning bathrooms (like scrubbing floors...she said she doesn't know why, but this is the most common way she's seen that has sent people into labor), going for walks, and some other things I won't mention.  If you're pregnant or have been pregnant, you probably know what I'm talking about.  ;)

So we'll see!  Tuesday night/Wednesday morning I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and was WIRED the whole day.  I started cleaning and doing some organizational things.  And I didn't sleep again until 11:30 that night.  It was insane and I was WIPED OUT the next day.  Just about everything is marked off our checklist!  Our house is the cleanest it's been in quite some time.  Really the only thing left is some laundry and to get Kyle's car fixed.  But those are no big deal.  If baby were to come right this second, I would be ok with it and not worry about the things I didn't get done.  So the waiting begins! 

I will start off tonight by trying to paint my toes...we'll see how that goes...lol....

Maybe next time I update there will be a real, live, Baby Kirby that we can look at in a picture?  Time will tell...