37 Weeks

I have SO much to talk about this week! It's been awhile since I've updated so I'll start with my last doctors appointment which was on the 21st (I was still 36 weeks). Everything was fine with both the baby and me. My GBS test was negative so I don't have to have an IV when I go into labor. Her heartrate was 150 and my fundal measurement was "right on" (finally, the baby has dropped). The np did a weight estimate on her and guessed she was around 6lbs. She also checked me and I was still thinning but not dialated. She said she could fit her fingertip in my cervix though, so I'm assuming I was a tiny bit dialated.

I had my baby shower on Friday the 22nd and it went AMAZING! I am SO blessed! It was absolutely beautiful. A couple of the gifts made me cry... one was from my aunt, who told me that my grandma had given her money to put towards a gift for me (she passed away in January). The other was from one of my brothers old nurses, who used his trach ties on a hand made baptismal gown for my daughter (he passed away in 2003 at the age of 15). They served really good food and my cake was so cute! I'll post pictures soon :) After the shower I ordered everything else she needs. I'm waiting on two more packages and then we will have everything (except a playmat, which needs to come back in stock).

Yesterday I was feeling pretty sick (flu like symptoms, mostly nausea) so I decided to go into the ER (not thinking much of it). I got there about 5pm and was told that since I'm 37 weeks I had to go directly up to labor & delivery. One of the first things I did when I got up there was throw up. They hooked me up to the fetal monitor as well as a contraction monitor and I was having contractions! I couldn't even feel them at first. The nurse asked me a bunch of questions, mostly about medical history and then went to get the doctor. I was checked (which hurt SO bad) and found out that I was 2cm dialated, 60% effaced, and the baby was at -2 station. However, he said he could feel her head. He told me that 37 weeks is pretty early to induce so if I went into labor it would pretty much have to be on my own. After he left I sat around for a bit then decided I wanted/needed to walk. I was hopng it would help push me into full on labor. I walked for a little over 2 hours and was having some pretty good contractions. I could still talk through them but they were painful. Finally around 9pm the nurse came back in to get me back in bed and hooked up again. She told me that the doctor was going to check me again and then they would decide what they were going to do with me. He had to help deliver 2 babies before I could be checked so I had to wait (insert screaming pain here, as well as when I first arrived). In the meantime I threw up again. When he finally came in to check me I had made no progress :( I was pretty bummed about that. Going through 5 hours of contractions and having nothing change kind of sucked to hear. They gave me something for my nausea and then told me I could be hooked up to an IV for fluids and stay as long as I wanted (into the morning if I wanted). The doctor told me that if I wasn't having nausea they would just send me home so I decided to just go home and labor there. I figured if it was real labor it wouldn't stop, I could do it at home, then come back when I needed to. Plus, Jake was there with me and he didn't want to stay (even though he said it was my call, I could tell) but I wanted to be in my own bed and didn't see much of a point in staying. I was feeling fine nausea wise and my contractions were leveling off. We got dischargerd around 12am. I got into bed around 1:30am and was woken up by 3am with painful contractions. I didn't get back to bed until after 4. I woke up a couple more times into the morning with contractions but they never lasted. Bummer. I went about my day with almost no pain at all and LOTS of energy, I guess all I got out of it was a real energy boost.

Tonight I started having painful contractions again. They only lasted for a couple hours though. I am having pretty bad pressure and cramping. I hope this means good things are to come, soon!

I have a doctors appointment in the morning so we'll see if anything has changed! I'll update then :)